Adding to the Family
by Milliebear
Summary: Gibbs and Tony consider being parents. Slash, but not mpreg.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is my first fic ever so be honest but don't be too brutal, please. Reviews would be really, really appreciated! Let me know if you want me to continue this story. Thanks!

Leroy Jethro Gibbs lay in bed and watched his lover sleeping. It had been a long, tiring day at work and they had rushed home for a quick dinner so they could get some sleep. While Tony DiNozzo had effortlessly drifted off, the marine found himself wide awake. As corny as it sounded, Gibbs could watch Tony sleep all night long. He never tired of seeing Tony's face whether it was peaceful in sleep, lit up with excitement, or even furrowed in anger. Tony had such an expressive face.

Gibbs knew exactly why he couldn't sleep. He and his younger lover had been discussing adding to their family. He remembered Tony bringing the topic up a few weeks ago. With a hesitant look on his face, Tony had cleared his throat and said "I've been thinking… what are your thoughts on…having something more in our lives? You know, a new addition…" he had said with a small, nervous smile. Gibbs had grinned and said "Like a puppy?" with a chuckle.

Tony had chuckled back and shifted nervously in his seat. Gibbs sobered up a little and got serious, "What kind of new addition, Tony? You mean a baby?" His lover was quiet for several seconds before answering, "Yeah, a baby. I know how much you love kids and how good you are with them. I'll be honest with you, I've never had much of a desire to have kids but lately it's on my mind a lot. Maybe I've never wanted them before but with you… with you, I find myself wanting to take that step." He babbled uncertainly with glances at Gibbs.

Gibbs had taken his time answering. "This is… huge, Tony. You need to think about this some more, I need to think about this some more, and we need to talk about this some more."

Tony said in a rush, "Oh, I know. I didn't mean we had to decide right now. I'm just saying, maybe it's something we could talk about and consider." Gibbs had softly kissed Tony on the lips before saying "Of course. We'll talk about it. It's something to think about."

Gibbs had so many conflicting feelings about it right now. They had broached the subject a couple more times with no serious decisions made. They had mostly talked about how they needed to decide, if they were to do this, did they want to adopt or go about finding a surrogate. It seemed they were leaning toward a surrogate, but that was yet to be determined.

Gibbs did love the idea of having a child. When he had lost his wife Shannon, and his only daughter, Kelly, he had been devastated. But when he did have Kelly it was the best years of his life. He knew he would love another child immensely and would enjoy having a little one around the house again.

The fact that he and Tony worked together was a big part of him holding back. If they went through with this, it would mean Gibbs retiring or Tony quitting NCIS. Was that something either of them were ready to do?


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs woke slowly and somewhat confused. He realized he must have drifted off at some point. Tony was pressed against his side with his arm over Gibbs's chest and his head against his shoulder. Looking over at the alarm clock, he realized it was almost time to get up for work.

"Tony," he said quietly, his voice rough with sleep. Tony mumbled and sighed, snuggling in closer and throwing his leg over Gibbs's legs. "Tony," Gibbs repeated as he reached down, put his finger in the waistband of Tony's boxers on his hip, pulled up as much as he could, and let them snap back. Tony's eyes opened wide and he looked around in a daze. "Uh, hi Boss…" he said as he rolled onto his back. Gibbs shook his head and sat up on the edge of the bed.

"I'm hitting the shower, DiNozzo. Be ready to get in when I'm done. If you're late for work, I _will_ be pissed," he said with a slight grin. At that, Tony sprawled out across the bed and closed his eyes. Gibbs rolled his eyes with a smirk and walked into the bathroom.

He stripped off his boxers and t-shirt and started the shower. He stepped in and walked under the spray of the water. As he began to wash his hair, he felt cool air as the shower door opened. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Tony peer in, "Mind if I join you? Might speed things along." Gibbs turned back around, "Might, if you keep your hands to yourself."

"Ah, come on, where's the fun in that?"

"No fun in it, DiNozzo, it's called getting ready for work for a reason."

Tony grinned and pressed himself against Gibbs's back, with one hand on his stomach and one on his chest. "We could make it fun," he said quietly against Gibbs's ear. Gibbs turned and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist. He pressed a quick kiss to soft lips and said "I'll have to promise you some fun tonight. I need to get to the office a little early, finish up some stuff from yesterday."

Tony groaned and grabbed for the shampoo. They showered in comfortable silence, occasionally lending a hand to each other. Gibbs stepped out first, dried off with a warm towel, and pulled on a pair of boxers. He walked out to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of khakis, an undershirt, and a red polo. Tony soon followed wearing black suit pants and a plain white dress shirt.

They headed down to the kitchen for some breakfast. Gibbs had his usual cup of coffee and decided on a piece of toast. Tony had a bowl of cereal. While sitting at the table, sipping his coffee, Gibbs brought the subject of a baby up again.

"Been thinking, Tony. If you still want to go through with having a baby, I'm leaning toward being okay with it. More than okay I guess. We could give this a shot."

He got a surprised look from Tony. "Really? Yeah, I'd still like to go through with it. You sure? You know there's no pressure. I'm perfectly happy with what we have, just us." Gibbs nodded, "I know and I am too. But yes, I'm sure." Tony grinned, "Jethro, we could be _parents_, we could be daddies." Gibbs returned the grin, "Yeah, Tony, we could be parents." He was feeling good about his decision, their decision. They were going to try to have a baby.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Please keep them coming, they'll definitely help me want to keep writing! Just a note: This story will be more focused on the characters and not so much on work/investigations. And this isn't beta'ed so any and all mistakes are, of course, mine. I hope you enjoy!**

After they finished breakfast and were done getting ready, they headed out the door for work. They each took their own car. Several minutes into the drive, Gibbs's phone rang. He flipped it open and put it to his ear, "Yeah, Gibbs."

"So we're really doing this? We're _actually_ doing this."

"Tony," Gibbs said, exasperated. "Hang up the phone."

"Well, I'm just saying. This is really going to happen."

Gibbs couldn't help the small smile but said gruffly, "DiNozzo, off the phone. Now." Before he hung up, he added quietly "And Tony? I love you." He closed the phone and tossed it on the passenger seat. He was glad Tony was so excited about this. It would help him come around to the idea even more firmly to see his lover so happy and excited.

He arrived at his desk before Tony made it up to the office. Ziva and McGee weren't in yet but he didn't expect they would be. He was preoccupied with this morning's decision while he started on the paperwork he needed to finish.

Tony strolled in, looking relaxed and at ease. His face split into a grin when he saw Gibbs. Gibbs couldn't help but smile back. Tony's smile was infectious; it was one smile he had a hard time not returning. "Tony, rein in your emotions," Gibbs said with a smirk. "We just made the decision this morning, I don't think they all need to know just yet."

Tony huffed a laugh, "Right. Good point, Boss."

Ziva, McGee, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer all knew about their relationship. He and Tony had been together for close to three years. Managing to keep it from everyone but their friends had been a struggle but by keeping the relationship out of the office they had been successful.

They were both busy at their desks when Ziva walked in with McGee following not long after. Tony and Ziva were talking across their desks as they worked. Gibbs looked up and watched them as he listened to their bantering.

"You are in a very good mood this morning, Tony."

Tony grinned and leaned forward, "Yes, I am." He opened his mouth to speak again but Ziva spoke first.

"Do not tell me about your night last night."

"Jealous, Zee-vah?"

Gibbs held back a grin. Tony couldn't help himself. The most action they'd had last night was the walk from the kitchen to the bedroom and even that had been at a slow, sedate pace. Before Ziva could respond, Gibbs's phone rang. "Gibbs," he answered. A dead marine had been found in the park. He stood up and pulled his gun out of the desk drawer. "Grab your gear. We've got a body."

He and Tony rode together in the car while Ziva and McGee took the truck to the scene. Tony looked over at him seriously, "If we use a surrogate, I think I'd rather we used your sperm." Gibbs didn't respond as he drove at his usual neck-break speed. He glanced over at his lover. "Why is that?" he asked, in a curious tone.

With another glance, he saw Tony looking thoughtful. "I guess it's hard to put into words. I'd love for the baby to be… yours. Well, it'd be _ours_ but…" Tony struggled for words. "I like the idea of the kid having your genes" he said in an amused voice.

"And if we went the adoption route?"

"I am one hundred percent okay going that way too," he said earnestly.

"Looks like we've still got some decisions to make, Tony," Gibbs said "But right now we've got a crime scene to process."


	4. Chapter 4

**7 months later**

Gibbs and Tony were in the car heading for dinner with the team. Gibbs was driving and had offered his hand to Tony who had taken it. "Lukas," Tony said. Gibbs shook his head. "No."

"What the hell is wrong with Lukas?" Tony said in exasperation. "Jethro, you're not even listening to any names I suggest. You just automatically say no." Gibbs squeezed Tony's hand. "Did I say there was anything wrong with the name Lukas? I'm just not sure I like it for our child."

He and Tony had discussed having a child several months back and after much talk had decided it was indeed what they wanted. After even more discussion about decisions to be made and what was best for them, they had decided to find a surrogate. They found the perfect woman through a surrogate agency. Anna was the sweetest, spunkiest woman and she wanted to do this for them.

It had taken a few attempts, using Gibbs's sperm, but eventually Anna had gotten pregnant. Four months ago, Tony had been checking his email at home when he saw a message from Anna. He called Gibbs over before opening it. Having no idea what could be inside, they had opened the email. Inside they found a picture of a positive home pregnancy test and below that "Congratulations, Proud Papas! Get ready for sleepless nights and diaper changes. But mostly, get ready for some of the happiest moments of your life. I'm so happy for you two, you very much deserve this. Love, Anna."

It had been a bit of a shock. For several seconds, neither of them had reacted except to stare at the email and each other. Finally, Tony had whooped in excitement and grabbed Gibbs, pulling him into a hug. At that point, Gibbs had grinned so big it lit up his entire face. Putting his hands on Tony's face, he leaned in and kissed him with all he had. They pulled apart, breathing heavily, foreheads resting against each other. "Congratulations, Daddy," Gibbs had whispered against Tony's lips.

Anna was now four months pregnant and they would soon be finding out the sex of the baby. After much debate they decided they wanted to know; but they had also decided to keep it a secret from everyone else.

They had recently started talking names. Of course, they agreed on nothing. There was a rare name here and there they would "okay" simply because they were getting nowhere fast.

"I'm sure we'll figure out the perfect name for Little Bean before he or she gets here." Gibbs said. Not having anything to call the baby, they had taken to calling it Little Bean.

They pulled into the restaurant and Gibbs turned off the car. He kissed Tony's palm, "I'm glad we decided to try for a baby. It's already hard to imagine life without Little Bean in it." Tony smiled and said "I agree. L.B. is going to be one really loved kid." Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "L.B.?"

"Yeah, L.B. Little Bean."

Gibbs laughed, "L.B." Shaking his head, he got out of the car to meet his friends.

**What do you think? Are you liking it? Review please! And let me know if you still want me to continue. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I _love_ getting them :) I've decided to lower the rating of the story. I'm thinking there probably won't be any scenes in this story that really require an M rating and if there are then I'll change it back at that point. Enjoy!**

Today was the day of the big ultrasound. Gibbs and Tony would be finding out if Little Bean was a boy or a girl. They would be going to the doctor's office to meet Anna during their lunch break. The team knew they had an ultrasound to go to, but they did not know they would be finding out the sex.

He and Tony had told their friends they were planning to have a child right before they started trying with Anna. Abby had squealed and ran at them, nearly knocking them down with the power of her hugs. McGee had been momentarily confused and stunned but quickly recovered with a smile and a "That's…that's great!" Ziva had smiled and wished them luck. True to his nature, Ducky had a story to tell and made sure to tell them how happy he was for them. And Palmer had stumbled over his words trying to wish them luck.

Tony and Ziva were out of the office, talking to some people involving their current case. Gibbs needed to see what Abby had in the lab. "McGee, I'll be in the lab." McGee nodded absently, focused on his computer.

Gibbs walked into the lab. "What've you got, Abs?" Abby turned around and smiled. "Gibbs! I knew you'd be down. I just found something."

Working on a case made time fly. Before he knew it, it was time to head to the doctor's office. He met Tony at the car. "You ready?" he asked as he got in. Tony nodded and drummed his hands on the dash, "Been ready." Gibbs drove and Tony talked continuously. When they arrived, Tony was still going on about something. Gibbs interrupted him. "Ready to find out if our baby is a boy or a girl?" Tony grinned. "I'm ready. Hopefully Little Bean cooperates and shows the goods."

They met Anna inside. She hugged both of them before asking how they were doing. Gibbs smiled. "You're asking how we're doing? Shouldn't we be asking you that?" Anna waved her hand in the air, "I'm healthy and happy, always." Tony nodded to her stomach. "And L.B.?"

"Healthy and happy, always," she said with a smile as she rubbed her hand over her stomach.

"How are Grace and Isaac doing?" Gibbs asked her. Grace and Isaac were Anna's two kids, they were eight and five. "Oh, they're doing great. They're just so much fun; I can't get enough of them."

Anna's name was called and they headed back with her and the nurse. After a few questions for Anna, the ultrasound tech put the gel on her stomach. Gibbs and Tony watched the screen where they saw the image of their baby appear. They saw a profile shot of the face, a hand, a foot. The tech asked if they wanted to know the sex. They said they did.

"You're having a baby boy. Congratulations."

Gibbs was elated. He and Tony would have a son.

** Like it? Review please! Hopefully more to come tonight or tomorrow. I'll be working on it today.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm loving the reviews! Thanks everybody! There will be some name discussion in this chapter. I was going to wait until the baby was born to give any kind of detail on that but I decided to be nice ;) Feel free to comment on which name you like best or even suggest a new one! I'll take your thoughts and ideas into consideration. Enjoy!**

They were headed back to the office after the ultrasound and talking about their baby boy. Gibbs was happier than he could explain and Tony was beyond excited.

"You know, I'll admit, I'm kind of glad it's a boy. I'm not sure I could handle the teen years with a girl," Tony said.

"You assume the teen years with a boy will be easy?"

"No. But I think it'll be different."

Gibbs nodded once, "I think you might be right."

"Can we stop somewhere and eat? I'm starving."

"Ah," Gibbs looked at the clock. "No, but I can pull in somewhere and pick something up for you. What do you want?" Tony shrugged, "Anything on the way." Gibbs swerved into the next place he saw and ordered Tony a burger. As they sat at the drive-thru window, Tony started talking about names again.

There were only a handful of names they agreed on. Their top choices at the moment were Henry, Leo, Noah, Theodore, and Thomas. They were heavily leaning toward Theodore these days and decided if they used it, he would mostly go by Theo. If they didn't use Henry as a first name it would probably be the middle name for Little Bean.

"I like Solomon," Tony said as Gibbs was waiting to pull out. Gibbs looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "What?" Tony asked uncertainly. Gibbs shook his head and pulled out onto the road.

"Tony, we finally agree on a few names and you start bringing all these other ones up. Solomon is a mouthful."

"I think Theodore could be considered a mouthful too, probably."

"Solomon is okay," Gibbs said. "You give me a headache with all this name talk. Eat your burger; we've got stuff to do when we get back."

They arrived back at the office and took a minute to show off a sonogram picture. It was a shot of Little Bean's face.

"Look at that sweet nose!" Ziva gushed in a un-Ziva-like manner.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" McGee asked. Tony glanced at Gibbs casually. Gibbs shook his head, "I don't think we're finding out, McGee." They wanted to keep the sex of the baby a surprise from the others. And they had also decided they didn't want to share the name until the baby was born. Part of it was enjoying being able to surprise them with everything but they also didn't want to hear any negative comments about the names they were considering. Once Little Bean was born and they heard the name, there was little chance they would have anything negative to say about it. It was easier that way.

"Okay, back to work. DiNozzo, go see what Abby has."

"On it, Boss."

The rest of the day was busily spent figuring out who killed a marine and his family. They didn't stop to rest for a second and by 2100 had solved the case; it was fairly cut and dry. After a long day, the team left to go home.

Gibbs and Tony were tired when they got home and had a quick, easy dinner. They went into the living room and sat on the couch to watch a movie. A few minutes into it, Gibbs started playing with Tony's hair. They were sitting close together and Tony turned his head to look at Gibbs. They both moved forward at the same time and their lips met. Gibbs slid his tongue across Tony's lip making him groan and open his mouth. After a few minutes of dueling tongues and wandering hands, they pulled apart, breathing heavily. "Bedroom," Gibbs said. Tony didn't need to be told twice.

Gibbs figured they better enjoy themselves as much as possible now. It wouldn't be long before there was a little one in the house and that meant no time and no privacy. He grinned as he ran up the stairs after Tony; Little Bean was more than worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Day of the birth. Enjoy!**

Gibbs was busy at work when he got the call. Anna had gone into the hospital a little while ago and was in labor; they would have a baby by the end of the day. He hung up the phone and looked over at Tony.

"Tony, Anna's at the hospital. I guess Bean had other plans."

Tony huffed a nervous chuckle, "You're kidding, right?" Gibbs stared at him.

"It's too early, I'm not ready!" Tony exclaimed in a panic. Gibbs walked over to him and put his hand on Tony's neck and squeezed gently, looking into his eyes he said calmly "You'll be _great_, Tony." He patted him on the chest before saying, "And anyway, Little Bean is only about two weeks early. What's two weeks?"

"A freakin' long time, that's what."

Gibbs chuckled. "Finish up what you're doing and we'll head to the hospital."

"You can be all calm and cool; you've done this before."

Gibbs shrugged a shoulder. "That was a long time ago, Tony, and I wasn't around a lot. This will all be pretty new to me too."

"Yeah, but are you sure I can take care of Bean by myself? All day long? I'm not so sure…"

Gibbs and Tony had decided that Tony would take a month of leave from work and stay home with the baby. Gibbs was retiring at that point and would take over staying home with L.B.

"I'll be at home with you for the first few days. You'll do fine, I know it. Now finish up so we can go."

Forty-five minutes later they were on the road. Abby had demanded they call the second they got a chance when Gibbs told them what was going on.

"I'm really happy and excited but I feel kind of sick," Tony said as he fidgeted in the passenger seat.

"If you puke in my car, I'll head slap you. Here," he offered Tony his hand. Tony took it and relaxed a little. "Thank you," he said quietly. Gibbs glanced over at him and Tony smiled. "I really am ready to meet this little guy. I already know he's the cutest baby ever."

"Naturally," Gibbs agreed with a nod.

They pulled into a spot at the hospital and Gibbs turned off the car. They sat there for a moment before Gibbs said, "Well, this is it. Ready or not." He moved to get out of the car and was stopped by a hand. "Hey…" Gibbs turned back around. "I love you." Gibbs kissed Tony's cheek, "I love you too. Sap," he said as he got out of the car. Tony got out with him and laughed. "Me? You're calling me a sap? Nobody knows you're a closet romantic." Gibbs grinned and rolled his eyes.

They found Anna's room and, after knocking, walked in. She was standing beside the bed, breathing slowly and deeply. "Hey guys," she said over her shoulder before turning back around. Gibbs rubbed his hand across her upper back a few times, "How are you doing, Anna?"

Anna nodded and breathed out deeply. "Getting there. Hi Tony." Tony smiled, "Hey Anna." Gibbs and Tony shook hands with Anna's husband and found somewhere to sit down.

"Do you want to stay in the room?" Anna asked. She had offered a few months ago, saying she didn't mind. "I think we've decided to wait outside," Tony told her.

It wasn't long before they were in the waiting room. Gibbs sat in a chair and Tony paced in front of him. "Hey," Gibbs grabbed Tony's shirt, "come sit by me." Tony sank into the seat beside him. "I'll never understand how you can be so perfectly still, even at a time like this."

They waited for about 40 minutes before a nurse walked out holding a small bundle. Gibbs and Tony stood up quickly and walked over to her. "Mr. Gibbs, Mr. DiNozzo, meet your son." She handed the sleeping newborn to Gibbs who cradled him in his arms. "He's six pounds, three ounces, nineteen inches, and healthy as can be," she said.

"He's perfect," Tony said quietly as he gently touched the baby's cheek. The nurse left them to be with their son. "Here, hold him," Gibbs said as he placed the tiny baby in his lover's arms.

"Is this okay?" he asked.

"You're doing great. You're a natural." Gibbs said. He ran his hand over the soft brown hair on his baby's head. "Hi Theodore Henry. Hi Theo," he said to the newborn.

They were at the hospital the rest of the day with Theo. The team had come by after work and met the baby. "This is Theodore Henry Gibbs," Tony said, "Theo, this is Abby, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, and Palmer. They're your aunts and uncles, Little Bean."

"Theodore Henry, _very_ distinguished," Abby said. "He's so sweet. Look at how tiny he is!"

The team all took turns holding Theo and eventually, one by one, they left. Gibbs and Tony would be staying at the hospital overnight with the baby and the doctor said they could take him home in the morning.

They were ready to get some sleep. Theo had hardly been put down since he was born. "I love you, baby," Tony said as he kissed a soft forehead and laid the sleeping baby down. Gibbs leaned down and kissed Theo's cheek, "Goodnight, Theo, I love you."

**What did you think? And how will the first few days at home with baby Theo go? Find out soon! Leave me some reviews please, they help me write :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: The newborn stage isn't really easy to write about. They just don't do much, lol. I hope you're able to enjoy the next couple chapters despite that. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

Their first night with Theo, in the hospital, was a restless one with little sleep. Theo was awake every couple of hours and Gibbs and Tony shared a small, cramped bed. Tony was against Gibbs's side, a leg thrown over him, a hand on his chest, and his face right next to Gibbs's. He had realized from the beginning of their relationship that Tony liked to be close when he slept and that was usually perfectly okay. But sometimes Tony could get restless and it made for a long night.

Tony shifted in his sleep and jabbed his elbow into Gibbs's side. Gibbs sighed. "Tony!" he whispered loudly. "Mmmm?" Tony mumbled and rolled back against Gibbs, throwing an arm over him.

"Tony, wake up." Tony blearily opened an eye. "You're kind of all in my space. Move a little." Tony grumbled and rolled away from him before scooting back against him. Gibbs rolled onto his side and draped an arm over Tony's waist. Just as he was drifting back off, Theo started crying. He rolled over and sat up, "Okay. I'm up." He looked at the clock as he went to pick him up. It was 4:45 in the morning.

Gibbs fed him a bottle and talked softly to him while Tony slept. Theo drifted back to sleep in his Papa's arms. Gibbs lay him back down and went to lie back down beside Tony. As he wrapped his arm around him, Tony asked in a half-asleep voice, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, gave L.B. his bottle. Go back to sleep for a little while," Gibbs whispered before placing a kiss on Tony's neck. He dozed lightly for another hour before he got up for good.

After making sure both baby and daddy were still sleeping, he walked out to get some coffee. Gibbs felt exhausted. He walked back down the hall to their room with his cup of coffee. At 6:15, he woke Tony up. "Let's get everything together so we can get out of here after the doctor okays it." Hopefully it wouldn't be any later than 7:30 or so; Gibbs was ready to be home.

"Do you want to go get Theo's car seat out of the car? Or stay here while I run out to get it?"

Tony looked at him in a sleepy daze, "Okay."

"Okay what?"

"Yeah, I'll go get it."

Tony stood up, walked over to Theo, and watched him sleeping for a minute before he walked out the room. A few minutes after that, Theo was awake and making himself be heard. Gibbs picked him up and cradled him against his chest. "Shh. Papa's got you." He re-swaddled Theo and gently rocked him.

Tony walked back in with the car seat and put it on the bed. He walked up behind Gibbs and wrapped one arm around his waist and stroked Theo's head with the other hand. "He looks just like you," Gibbs heard him whisper. "They say you don't know until you have your own and I'm finding it's so true; how can you feel so much intense love for one little person?"

Gibbs nodded, "It's something else, isn't it?" Tony kissed Gibbs's temple, "I love you." Gibbs grinned and turned his head back to place an awkward kiss against the side of Tony's mouth, "I love you, too. Ready to change a diaper?"

Tony stepped back. "Uh… yeah, sure. Isn't it your turn?" Gibbs laughed, "I changed every single diaper last night, smart ass. He's only wet." He lay Theo on the bed and grabbed a diaper. "Here, go for it."

Tony slowly took the diaper and stood in front of his son. "This diaper could fit a doll." Gibbs stared at him. Tony reached down and undid the tabs on the diaper. "I'm afraid I'll hurt him."

Gibbs shook his head, "He's tougher than you'd think, Tony. Be gentle but don't be afraid to just do it. He won't break, I promise." Tony started to lower the front of the diaper then stopped, "Are you sure? Look at his skinny little chicken legs." Gibbs was suddenly finding it really hard not to laugh. He should warn Tony to be quick about the change; he had a feeling Tony would take Theo's diaper off and take his sweet time getting the clean one on. It was a sure-fire way for a shower.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said with a chuckle he couldn't quite contain. Tony narrowed his eyes, "What are you laughing at?" Gibbs shook his head and shrugged. "Change the diaper already, Tony. He'll be potty trained by the time you get it done." That earned him a glare which he smiled at innocently.

Tony slowly lowered the front of the diaper and gently lifted Theo's legs to pull it out from under him. Gibbs's intuition didn't fail him. He watched as a stream of pee hit Tony. Gibbs was doubled over in laughter as Tony yelped and jumped back. Theo started wailing and kicking his legs. Still laughing, Gibbs picked up a half-naked Theo and started rocking him. "Did Daddy scare you, baby?" he asked his son between chuckles. He got Theo calmed down and put him back on the bed. "Get over here and finish what you started. And I'd suggest being a little quicker about it," he said with a grin.

"You're cruel. You did that on purpose." Tony put the diaper under Theo and managed to get the tabs on the front. "There! Did it."

"Not bad, DiNozzo."

They were soon able to leave and take their baby home. Gibbs and Tony worked together to get him dressed in a blue sleeper. Tony was still very nervous about hurting Theo so Gibbs wanted to make sure Tony helped out with every little thing while he was still there to help him before he went back to work in a few days. He had no doubt that Tony would quickly get the hang of it.

He awkwardly, but very gently, put Theo in his car seat. Gibbs buckled him in and made sure it was as secure as it should be. He pulled the handle of the seat up until it locked into place. "Ready?"

"Ready." Tony took the car seat in hand and Gibbs grabbed the rest of their stuff.

Tony wanted Gibbs to drive home and while Gibbs drove, Tony rode in the back with Theo. The baby slept the whole way home. They got the car seat out and walked into the house. "Welcome home, Theodore."


	9. Chapter 9

Their first day at home as parents was a fairly uneventful one. Theo slept most of the day, really only waking for bottles and diaper changes. Tony puttered around the house in his fidgety way; Gibbs took some time to work on his boat. They all took a nap together late in the afternoon with Gibbs on the couch, Theo on his chest. Tony, not wanting to be away from his lover and his son, slept on the floor in front of the couch. Gibbs slept with one hand laying gently on Theo's little body and the other hanging off the couch, fingers entwined with Tony's.

A small cry, rising in volume, woke Gibbs about an hour later. He took his other hand from Tony and gently rubbed Theo's back while quietly shushing him. Tony got up and went into the kitchen. He came back a few minutes later with a bottle. "Good?" he asked. Gibbs felt the bottle and nodded, "Feels good, you test it on your skin?" Tony nodded and said it felt okay. "Then trust your judgment, Daddy. I do." Tony lifted the baby from Gibbs's chest and when Gibbs sat up, sat down beside him.

While Theo sucked down the bottle, Gibbs played with his feet and marveled at how little they were. "I hate the burping part…" Tony said.

"I can understand that. Their little heads are all over the place at first."

With Theo fed, successfully burped, and changed, they made their way to the kitchen for some dinner. Tony walked in holding Little Bean and talking to him.

"You know, I'm sure you could put him down for a little while, so you can eat." Tony lifted his chin up in an almost childishly defiant way. Gibbs grinned. "Or you can eat with one hand. Whatever works for you."

They ate dinner in tired silence. When Gibbs finished, he took Theo from Tony and, without even realizing it, began to rock him. "Maybe a movie then bed? We should probably go pretty early; I have a feeling we're in for another long night."

"Yeah, alright."

They sat through a movie that they barely watched. Instead, they watched their son sleeping and talked quietly the entire time. "You ready to go up? We've got bottles ready for tonight, just need to change him and catch some sleep." Theo's crib was in their room and would probably stay there for a while. They wanted him close for now and would decide later if they wanted to move it to his room or keep him with them a little longer.

He and Tony had been asleep for a total of 45 minutes when crying woke them up."Seriously?" he heard Tony ask in a dull tone. Tony sat on the side of the bed, yawning, while Gibbs went to Theo. With a little bit of rocking and quiet shushing, he got L.B. back to sleep. He fell back into bed and was almost instantly asleep.

Barely another hour had gone by before he felt Tony bolt upright beside him and he heard the crying. "Bottle," Tony said, his voice thick with sleep. Gibbs went downstairs to get the bottle while Tony changed a screaming Theo. Gibbs handed the bottle to Tony and laid back down. He dozed while Tony fed the baby.

He woke sometime later to quiet cries. They had made it two hours this time. Gibbs groaned and got out of bed. Picking Theo up, he said to Tony, "Maybe I'll go sleep in the guest room with him."

"Why can't you just put him in bed with us?"

"You sleep right up against me. Even in your sleep you automatically seek me out and roll against me. I'm not sure how comfortable I am putting him between us."

"I wouldn't roll on him. I'd be more aware than that." Gibbs gave Tony an unsure look. He knew exactly how Tony was during the night.

Tony sighed, "Okay, how about this? You sleep in the middle and put Bean on your other side. That way he's in the bed with us but you don't have to worry about him being by me. There's enough room in this bed for that." Gibbs considered it and finally agreed.

The rest of the night was hardly any smoother but Gibbs was glad he could at least console Theo right beside him instead of having to get up every hour. He was up for good at 5:15. Theo was fed and changed and Gibbs had showered.

"You going for a run?" Gibbs asked a sleeping Tony and grinned. Tony half groaned, half growled, and rolled over with his eyes still closed. He burrowed himself deeper under the covers and into the pillow. "I'm going to take that as a no," Gibbs said with a light chuckle.

"Tony, Theo is asleep in the crib. I'm going down to the basement to work on the boat for a little while. If he wakes up, you have to get up and get him." There was no response. "You hear me, DiNozzo?" Tony grunted and rolled over again. "Okay, Boss," he said in a sleep-slurred voice.

Gibbs found working on his boat to be very relaxing. After a long night with very little sleep, relaxing was just what he needed. He had been working for about thirty minutes before he heard Tony at the basement door. He looked up and saw him holding Theo. Tony smiled; Gibbs smiled back and lifted his hand in a wave. "Be up in a minute, Tony."

He walked upstairs and found Tony on the couch with Theo on his chest. He stood back and watched his lover with their son. Tony gently rubbed his hand up and down Theo's back while he talked in a quiet voice. Gibbs thought that moment, watching Tony being a dad to their baby boy, definitely ranked as one of his favorite moments ever.

**What do you think? Hopefully it'll get a little more fun as Theo grows and actually starts doing stuff ;) Leave me a review, please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Enjoy and let me know what you think! :)**

Today was Tony's first day home alone with Theo who was now five days old. Gibbs was in the shower getting ready for work. He had taken a couple of days off work to stay with him and the baby. Tony's chest felt heavy with sadness. He had enjoyed their few days off, together as a family. Now one of them would be at work all day while the other stayed with Theo. Tony would be at home for a month with the baby and then Gibbs was retiring from NCIS and would take over staying at home while Tony went back to work. Having a baby together and working at NCIS wasn't an option. That's why they decided Gibbs would retire. Plus they had decided, after much discussion, that staying home with Theo was best for their family.

Gibbs walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Tony was sitting on the side of the bed beside a sleeping Theo. "Tony, why don't you lay back down and get a few more minutes of sleep? Theo should sleep a while longer. Put him in the crib and rest." They had taken to putting Theo in bed with them at night. But Gibbs wasn't comfortable with Tony sleeping with the baby; he tended to be a restless sleeper. Tony understood Gibbs's concerns and respected them.

"I might. I'll wait until you're gone and see if he's still sleeping then. You planning to drop that towel?" he waggled his eyebrows. He was rewarded with a laugh. God, he loved that laugh. Tony was pretty sure he was one of the few that was lucky enough to hear it.

"Don't start something right before work. I'll never make it there on time." Tony grinned, "I like that plan." He stood up from the bed and smiled.

"What are you up to? Sit your butt back down." Gibbs said suspiciously as he backed away. Tony kept walking forward. "What? I'm not doing anything. Why are you suspicious, Jethro?"

Gibbs grinned, "Because I know you? Because your name is Tony DiNozzo? I could list a million reasons why I'm suspi-…"

Gibbs was cut off as Tony's mouth landed on his. Tony suddenly found himself turned and backed against a wall, a tongue invading his mouth. He pulled back and pushed Gibbs back a little before grabbing his hand and tugging him along with him to the guest room…

Tony was smiling as Gibbs rushed out the front door. He knew his lover would be late for work, but he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry about it. He heard Theo upstairs and ran to get him.

"Hi baby," Tony said as he picked his son up. "What's wrong? Time for a bottle?" He changed Theo's diaper, somewhat less awkwardly than his first few, and headed downstairs. The first part of the day went rather smoothly. Theo ate and napped; Tony got some stuff done around the house and even managed a catnap. And then Theo got fussy.

Tony tried rocking, gentle patting and bouncing, walking, talking, and even singing. Theo was screaming mad and seemed to be inconsolable. "Why is your first real freak out the first day we're alone together?" He was starting to feel a little panicky. Theo hadn't cried like this before, he only cried when he was hungry or needed to be held. He was fed, changed, and held.

Tony laid him down on the couch, where he continued to wail while his arms flailed and his legs were kicking. Tony paced and grabbed his cell phone. He put it back down and sat down on the couch beside Theo. He wouldn't call Gibbs on the first day. He could figure this out.

"Shh, Theo. Shh. You're okay," Tony said in soft, soothing tones. He gently rubbed his hand over Theo's stomach. He decided to lie back on the couch with Theo on his chest, he seemed to like that. Theo slowly calmed down as Tony rubbed his back and continued to talk quietly to him. The baby eventually fell asleep on his chest. Tony sighed and turned the TV on with the volume low.

Just as he was getting really relaxed, Theo's shrill cry made him jump slightly and tense. He wouldn't be calmed this time. Tony, in desperation, called Gibbs.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Uh…"

"Tony, what's wrong?"

"Jethro, he won't stop crying. I finally got him calm and asleep and then he just woke up and started screaming again. I've tried everything. He's fed, he's changed, I've swaddled, I've un-swaddled, I've rocked, I've patted, I've…"

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'm sure he's fine. He's a baby; babies can get pretty pissed off. Did he burp when you fed him?"

"Yeah, good burp too."

"Still, could be gas. Maybe he's got a stomach ache."

"What am I supposed to do about that?" Tony asked, feeling overwhelmed with Theo crying in his lap. He heard Gibbs sigh. "Ah, rub his stomach? Try burping him again, see if he burps? I don't really know what to tell you…" Gibbs told him, sounding helpless. "If all else fails, I guess he'll eventually wear himself out crying and fall asleep."

"I don't like him crying this long, he's still so little."

"I don't like it any more than you do, but if he's pissed, he's pissed. Do what you can for him and hopefully he'll fall asleep soon."

Tony sighed and closed his eyes. This parenting stuff was already proving to be really hard at times.


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs was packing a bag for Theo when he heard the baby waking up. He went upstairs with a bottle, "Hi Little Bean, did you have a good nap?" He picked him up and put the bottle in his mouth. "You ready to go see Daddy?" he asked Theo as he eagerly sucked down his formula. Gibbs was going to visit Tony on his lunch break.

Theo was now four months old and growing all the time. He could roll both front to back and back to front, he had recently started to really smile, and occasionally Gibbs and Tony could get a little laugh out of him. He was proving to be a very calm, very quiet baby but when he did get mad or upset it took a lot to calm him back down. They were glad those mad moments were rare occurrences.

Gibbs had been retired and stay-at-home Papa for three months now. At first he had worried he would get tired of being home all day but so far that wasn't the case at all. He was enjoying every minute with Theo and found himself constantly busy despite not working.

As he was changing Theo's diaper and clothes before they left, he glanced over and saw a picture of Kelly on the baby's dresser. "I think you look just like your sister, buddy. What do you think?" He held the picture for Theo to see, "Same cute face, same sweet nose, same big blue eyes. You get those from Papa, by the way." Theo was staring at the picture and chewing on his hand. "What do you think, Bean? You look like big sister?" Theo took his thoroughly soaked hand from his mouth and reached for the picture with a look of concentration and determination on his face.

Gibbs put the picture back and picked Theo up. "Let's go, bud. Time to go see Daddy."

He made his way to Tony's desk and put Theo's car seat on it. "Hey!" Tony looked up with a smile. "Time got away from me; I didn't realize it was lunchtime." He looked at Theo and grinned, "Hi baby!" Theo smiled and kicked his feet. As Tony was getting him out of his car seat, Gibbs heard his name. He turned around and saw McGee and Ziva walking toward him.

"McGee, Ziva, how are you? It's been a while." McGee smiled, "It's good to see you, Gibbs."

Tony was holding Theo, lips pressed against the top of his head, rocking back and forth. "Ah, I missed you, Theodore. I might steal you from Papa as he's walking out of here." Gibbs grinned.

"Gibbs, see if you can make him laugh. Guys, you have to hear this. Best sound ever."

"You make him laugh. You're the funny one." Tony stared at him. Gibbs sighed and walked over to them. "I know I'm going to stand here and act like an ass and he's not even going to crack a smile," Gibbs muttered. Tony grinned, "Better you than me."

Looking at McGee and Ziva, he said "This does not leave this area. You do not talk about this." They looked confused but nodded.

"Theo," Gibbs said, trying to get the baby's attention. "Little Bean, look." With his head on Tony's chest, Theo turned to watch Gibbs and sucked on his fist. Gibbs covered his eyes with his hand, pulled it away and said "Peek-a-boo!" Theo grinned and reached for Gibbs's face.

"Papa is just so funny," Tony said to Theo. Gibbs gave him a look but was smiling.

"If all else fails, tickle him." Gibbs took the baby from Tony and cradled him in his right arm. With his left, he gently poked down Theo's side. Theo grunted, grinned, and arched away. Gibbs walked his fingers back up his side. Without pausing, he walked them back down the baby's side. Quiet laughter erupted from Theo's mouth.

They all chuckled and there was an "Aww" from both Ziva and McGee. Abby soon joined them upstairs, "Could this kid be any cuter?" Theo loved her. He was grinning and kicking his legs in excitement. Abby even managed to get him to "talk." They found he wasn't much of a cooer or talker but when Abby talked to him he cooed several times and grinned.

"You're a little flirt!" Tony said as his phone rang. "We've got a body," he said a few minutes later. He turned to Gibbs, "Sorry to cut this short."

"Ah, DiNozzo, I know how it is. We'll see you at home tonight." He said as he took Theo from Abby. Tony stepped forward and kissed Theo's head, "I love you, baby." He turned to Gibbs and kissed his cheek, "I love you, baby." Gibbs chuckled and thought he felt his face starting to blush. "I love you too, Tony. Hey, watch your six out there, huh?"

"You got it, Boss."

Gibbs got Theo back in his car seat, walked back to the car, and headed home. When they got home, Gibbs put Theo in the living room on a blanket and handed him a small toy that he could grasp in his hand. He went into the kitchen to prepare some more bottles for the day and to clean up a bit. A few minutes later he went back to check on him. He had rolled onto his stomach and was sound asleep. Gibbs grinned and went back into the kitchen. He would have, undoubtedly, loved Theo no matter what, but he was sure glad they ended up with such an easy baby.

**I hope you enjoyed! More to come soon. I've got two tests tomorrow but will have time to work on it some more on Friday so an update then or over the weekend! Thanks for reading and reviewing :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I managed a chapter today! I hope you enjoy.**

Gibbs heard the door open and close. "Jethro?" he heard from the front door.

"Tony. Kitchen," he called out. Tony peeked his head in and smiled, "Hi. Where's Theodore?" Gibbs smiled and nodded his head upward. "Upstairs, crib, sleeping."

"How did you get him to sleep in his crib?"

"I put him in it, told him I loved him, turned off the light, walked out and shut the door."

"And he just… let you? He just went right to sleep?" Tony asked, skeptically.

"Well, I could hear him awake for a little while on the baby monitor, but eventually he went to sleep."

He saw Tony frown in confusion. "Well, why doesn't he ever nap in the crib for me on weekends?" Gibbs grinned and shook his head. "Because you get him out and lay down with him the minute he even fusses."

Tony glared, "Well, you're the one that put him in our bed the first night home." At six months, Theo was still sleeping in their bed every night. It seemed to work best for them, although Theo was proving to be an awful sleeper. He still woke up every couple of hours most nights. He took good naps though.

"Would you like to start putting him in the crib at night? I have no problem with that. Once he got used to sleeping all night in it, we could move it to his room." His crib was still in their room. It was in there still mostly because they just never cared to take the time to move it, but also because they found they weren't quite ready to move him out yet.

Tony looked slightly horrified before saying, "He sleeps fine in our bed." Gibbs laughed. "You're worse than me, Tony. What are you going to do when he starts school if you can't even handle moving him from our bed?"

"Cry," Tony said, half joking and half serious. Gibbs smiled and kissed Tony, "I might cry a little bit with you."

Tony chuckled. They heard Theo waking up upstairs. Tony grinned and headed for the stairs. Gibbs got two jars of baby food ready, a fruit and a vegetable. They had started Theo on solids last month when the bottles didn't seem to satisfy him enough anymore.

A few minutes later, Tony walked back in the kitchen with the baby in his arms. "Can you put him in the highchair?" After they got Theo fed and ate dinner, they went into the living room. Tony got on the floor with Theo while Gibbs sat on the couch, taking some time to read. Gibbs looked up to watch them. He found Theo on his hands and knees, rocking a little. He was on the verge of crawling but hadn't quite figured it out yet.

A loud, frustrated screech came from the baby. He rocked forward and back again and his lip pouted. He moved back until he was sitting up and started crying. Tony, laying on the floor beside him, patted his back gently. "Don't give up, baby, you're so close. You just have to move forward. You'll get it soon, I know it." Theo continued to wail.

"I know you're a happy baby, but when you get mad, your Papa's temper comes through full force, buddy."

Gibbs made a face at that. Tony gave him an innocent look and picked Theo up. "Bath time?" Tony said.

"Bath time," Gibbs agreed. They went upstairs to their bathroom. While Gibbs filled the tub, Tony got Theo undressed. They got Theo in the tub and washed him. When they were done, Gibbs picked him up out of the tub and put him against Tony.

"Thanks," Tony said as he held a dripping wet baby against his shirt. Gibbs wrapped a towel around Theo and took him back, "You're welcome." They walked back into the bedroom to get Theo in his pajamas.

"I think I'm ready to call it a night. It's been a long day and I know we'll be up with this one tonight," Tony said as he started to strip down to his boxers. Gibbs nodded, "Sounds good. You want to do something tomorrow since it's Saturday? We haven't been out of the house in a long time."

They started to get situated in bed. Theo on the right side of the bed where they had put up a netted bed rail, Gibbs in the middle, and Tony on Gibbs's left side. Gibbs lay on his back and Tony lay with his head on Gibbs's chest, an arm draped over his stomach. Theo was lying diagonally with his feet against Gibbs and his head near the rail, settling down for sleep.

Gibbs cleared his throat and asked quietly, "Do you ever think about a second one?"

Tony looked up at him somewhat nervously. "A second what?"

"A second baby. No time soon, of course."

"I can honestly say that the thought never crossed my mind. You… you want another one?"

Gibbs sighed. "I've been thinking about it a little. When Theo is two or three, maybe."

"Aren't you a little too old to be having another one in another year or two?" Gibbs rolled his eyes, "No older than anyone else having babies these days. Anyway, like you say, it's only another year or two. I'm not saying when he's seven or eight. And… if we did it, I'd want to use your sperm this time."

He felt Tony shake his head against him. "I'm not sold. I'm not exactly a two kid kind of person. I like having just Theo. I like that he has all of our attention. And we haven't slept in six months. We'd be starting that all over again."

"Well, hopefully Little Bean will be sleeping through the night by the time he's two or three." Gibbs said with a grin before turning serious again. "It's okay, Tony. I was just thinking out loud. I'm more than perfectly happy with having only Theo. We are kind of a one kid family." Tony smiled and kissed Gibbs's jaw. "Night, Jethro. I love you."

"I love you too," he replied with a kiss to the top of Tony's head. Gibbs thought, as he lay in bed and tried to fall asleep, that maybe he was a little sad.

**What do you think? Should Gibbs try to talk to Tony about a second baby in the future some more and see if he can convince him? ;) Or should they be "one and done" with Theo? Let me know your thoughts on that! I think the next chapter will be the next day instead of skipping ahead a couple of months. I'll be writing about them doing something together as a family. Thanks for reading! And please keep the reviews coming, they help me write. ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Enjoy and review, please! More to come soon. :) Thanks for reading!**

Gibbs woke up to Theo crying and kicking his feet against him. Gibbs rubbed his eyes and picked Theo up to lay him on his chest. Glancing at the alarm clock, he saw that it was 4:30 in the morning. Theo had been up at 12:00 and 2:30 already. Gibbs rubbed his back and the crying started to quiet. He thought he might be able to get another hour or so in if he let Theo lay on him to go back to sleep. But he had no such luck. Theo started crying again and lifted himself up on Gibbs's chest until he was looking down at his face while screaming.

Gibbs supported him with his hands and sat up. "Okay, I give up. Let's go downstairs so Daddy can sleep a little longer." He grabbed a new diaper for Theo and went downstairs. He got a bottle warmed and handed it to Theo who was cradled in his left arm. With his free hand he started a pot of coffee.

"You have to learn how to sleep a little later, L.B. Papa is tired," he said as he yawned. Theo stared at him as he continued to drink his bottle. He sat down at the table with his coffee. Theo finished the bottle and tried to sit up. Gibbs sat him on his knee and held him there. Theo burped and looked around.

"Nice burp," Gibbs said. Theo smiled up at him and drooled formula down his chin. Gibbs wiped his mouth with his hand and stood up.

"How about you work on your crawling skills while I clean up some? You might be a little guy, but you sure know how to keep a house messy." As he cleaned, Theo entertained himself with some toys on the living room floor. For a while he was happy to play and roll around but eventually he got up on his hands and knees. He patted his hand against the floor then rocked back and forth. A look of frustration came over his face. He patted his hand against the floor again. He rocked forward and toppled over. He gave an angry cry and got back on his hands and knees.

He was clearly irritated and was getting madder by the second. He rocked back and forth and suddenly screeched, "Dadadadada!"

Gibbs eyes grew wide. Theo had never said anything before; he barely even babbled and cooed like most babies. Tony would be thrilled, but probably also a little upset that he missed it. Gibbs grinned and picked Theo up. "What a big guy, Theo! You said dada," he bounced Theo gently and smiled down at him. Theo grinned and grabbed Gibbs's nose.

Gibbs had given up cleaning and was on the floor playing with Theo when Tony walked down the stairs looking thoroughly grumpy. "What's for breakfast?" he asked in a sleep-rough voice, eyes squinted against the light.

"Whatever you feel like making for yourself, sunshine." Tony glared and walked into the kitchen, grumbling to himself. Gibbs picked Theo up and walked in after him. "Hey, guess what."

"What?"

"Theo was trying to crawl this morning and he…"

He was cut off by Tony. "He crawled? And I missed it?" Gibbs shook his head.

"He was getting mad, as usual, and he said dada!" Tony looked stunned. Then a grin lit up his face. He walked over and put his hand on Theo's head. "You said dada," he said in quiet amazement, "Say it again. Say dada, baby." Theo was grinning and sucking on his fingers. Tony took him from Gibbs.

Gibbs watched as Tony lifted Theo up above his head and looked up at him. "Come on. Say dada." Theo giggled at being lifted. He brought him back down and kissed him, "I know you'll say it again soon." Tony hugged Theo to him and rocked back and forth. "I'm so in love with this guy." Gibbs grinned. It was funny how quickly Tony's bad mood could disappear when he was with Theo.

"Want to go to the park in a little while? Theo hasn't been in one of those baby swings yet. Could be fun." Gibbs nodded.

After Theo's morning nap, they left for the park. They brought his stroller so they could walk around. As soon as Tony got him out of his car seat, he headed straight for the swings. Gibbs followed with the stroller.

"Don't do it too fast and traumatize him on his first swing experience," Gibbs said. Tony waved his hand impatiently, "Yeah, yeah. I've got this." Gibbs grinned and shook his head.

Theo was leaning forward against the front of the swing with one arm hanging over and the other hand holding onto the swing. Tony pulled the swing forward a little and let it go. Theo grinned a little. Tony did it a little higher. Theo giggled. "He loves it," Tony said.

Gibbs sat on one of the regular swings and rocked a little while watching his lover and son. Tony got the swing going again for Theo; he had been swinging for a few minutes now. He looked over and said "You're serious about a second baby?"

Gibbs was surprised he had brought it up again and carefully thought about his answer. "I'm serious when I say that I would love to try for a second one in a year or two. And I'm serious about talking about it. But also, I would never push you into doing something like that if your heart wasn't one hundred percent into it. So if you're dead-set against it, I'll drop it and maybe we can bring it back up again later, see if you still feel the same way."

He watched Tony watching Theo. "I'm not _completely_ against it. But I'm still not sold on the idea. You're more than welcome to give me all the pros and pluses of having another one."

Gibbs rocked in the swing some more then shrugged and threw his hands up. "There are a lot of pros and, yeah, a lot of cons too. But that was the same with Theo. Pros and cons of having a baby. And now look how much we love him and couldn't imagine life without him. I'm not saying it would be easy having another one. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be easy at all. But I have no doubt we could manage it. And I have no doubt about how much we would love that one. "

"If, _if _we did this, could we lean more toward when Theo is three? I'd want him to have a little more time with us alone."

Gibbs nodded, "I'd be okay with waiting until he's three." Tony smiled. "Okay, thanks. I'm still not really agreeing to this. But I won't give you an absolute no either. Give me some time."

"Take all the time you need. Let's go for a walk." Gibbs walked over and got Theo out of the swing and put him in the stroller. "You ready for a walk, Little Bean? You liked that swing, huh? We'll have to come back another day and swing some more."

They walked side by side with Gibbs pushing the stroller. "You want to go on a date?" Gibbs asked Tony, suddenly.

Tony looked a little surprised then shrugged, "Sure. When?"

"I don't know. Next weekend?"

"Okay," Tony nodded. "Want to go home and watch a movie and make out on the couch?"

Gibbs laughed. "Okay," he said with a nod. Tony grinned and peered in at Theo, "I know who's taking a nap when we get home."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: This is the next weekend, Gibbs and Tony's date night. :) **

Gibbs was dressed in a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips and a plain black Armani dress shirt that Tony had bought for him over a year ago. Gibbs had scoffed at it and stubbornly refused to wear it. But tonight he and Tony were going on a date and Gibbs wanted to please Tony and he knew wearing this expensive shirt that he'd bought for him would make him happy.

He tucked his shirt in and walked down the stairs where Tony was watching Theo. Tony looked up and grinned, "Jethro, you look _hot._" Gibbs rolled his eyes but smiled and said "Thanks. Go get dressed; Abby should be here any minute." They had debated between asking Abby or Ducky to watch Theo. In the end, they had decided that Abby would probably kill them if they didn't ask her.

A few minutes later Tony walked down dressed in jeans, a plain white dress shirt, and a black leather jacket. Gibbs momentarily lost his focus and didn't realize Abby had knocked. Tony grinned and said "Door, Jethro." Gibbs turned and went to the door. "Hey Abs," he said as he pulled her in for a hug.

"Gibbs, you look great," she said as he turned to walk back toward Theo and Tony. "Nice butt, too." Gibbs felt a blush rising on his cheeks.

"Abs," he said in a warning tone but smiled at her despite it. She smiled innocently then turned to Tony, "Tony, you're looking sexy, as usual."

"Well, thank you, Abby."

"Okay, Abby, we shouldn't be out too late. I know we're going to dinner but I'm not sure what else we're doing, if anything. We're a little rusty in the dating department. It's been a while." Gibbs said with a small smile. "The main thing is bed time. We already gave him a bath and put him in his pajamas. He'll probably want a bottle in thirty minutes or so. We usually bring him to bed with us when we go but sometimes one of us will go lay down with him earlier until he falls asleep. You don't have to do that unless you just want to, you can put him in his crib. He's never actually slept in his crib at night and has only napped in it a handful of times so we're not really sure how that would go."

Tony grinned, "Can you tell he's just a little spoiled?"

"Just a little, Tony." Abby said with a smirk.

"We don't get too worked up over bed time," Gibbs said. "I imagine when we get him in his crib we'll get him on a better routine but until then it's easier to put him to bed when we go to bed. He's a terrible sleeper anyway." Gibbs rolled his eyes. "So whenever you feel ready or feel like he's ready. Whatever you want to do."

Abby nodded. "Sounds good. Diapers?"

Tony pointed to a basket beside the couch. "Diapers, wipes, diaper rash creams. And there's also another basket upstairs in our room."

"Got it."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked. "Oh, you know our numbers if anything comes up. Don't hesitate to call."

"Sounds good. I think I've got it."

Gibbs nodded, "Okay. Good. I guess… we'll go then."

"This is the first time we'll both be away from him at once. We said we wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but I think it's turning out to be a bit harder than we thought," Tony said with a chuckle. Gibbs smiled and walked forward to Abby where she was holding Theo. He kissed his head and rubbed his hand over it. "I love you. We'll be back soon."

Tony walked over and kissed him, "I love you, Bean."

They walked to the door together and opened it. "See you soon, Abs." Abby waved. They started to walk out and Tony turned back, "Oh, and he likes to have his back rubbed. So if he gets really mad…" Gibbs grabbed him and yanked him out the door and quickly shut it behind them.

Tony walked to the passenger door and opened it. Gibbs grinned, chuckled, and shook his head. He got in and Tony shut the door. He saw him run around the front of the car and then he was getting in. "I can't remember the last time we went on a date," Tony said as he started the car.

Gibbs nodded, "It's been a long time." He held his hand out and Tony took it.

"You're wearing the shirt." Tony said with a smile. Gibbs smirked, "I'm wearing the shirt."

"It's not so bad, is it?"

"Only slightly worse than torture."

Tony laughed and said "Whatever." Gibbs squeezed Tony's hand and chuckled, "Okay, it's not so bad. And you love it which is a plus."

They arrived at the Italian restaurant where they were eating. Tony turned off the car and held his finger up in a "hold on" gesture. He jumped out of the car, ran around the front, and opened Gibbs's door. He held his hand out for Gibbs. Gibbs smiled and took his hand. After Tony pulled him out of the car, they shared a quick kiss and pulled apart.

"Ready?" Tony asked as he bounced on his feet.

"Ready."

After they were seated, they ordered their food and drinks. Gibbs sat listening to Tony talk. Tony kept him laughing through most of the meal. And his laughing kept Tony laughing. After they were finished eating, Tony sat back in his chair, smiling. "This was great. You didn't have much to say tonight though, Jethro. I guess I was running my mouth as usual," he said with a chuckle. Gibbs shook his head, "I was enjoying listening to you. I didn't have much to say because I liked hearing what you had to say."

Tony was looking at him with a tender look on his face. "I hate to get all corny on you here but I think it has to be done. How did I get so lucky? How is it I got so lucky to be with you?"

"Ah, Tony, I'm the lucky one. You're the one that ended up with the bad-tempered old man. I got the funny, charming, happy-go-lucky, good looking guy."

An irritated, angry look passed over Tony's face. "Jethro, is that how you think I see you? A bad-tempered old man? If that's all I thought you were, why would I be with you? Sure, you can be moody at times and yeah, you can be hard to handle every now and then. But you're so much more than that. You're compassionate, a great friend, my best friend in fact, you've got a pretty damn great sense of humor yourself, and you're not always a man of many words but when you do say something, it's worth hearing. Oh and you're very romantic, for someone who has divorced three times. I wasn't expecting such a romantic man. I'd also like to add that age and the color of your hair has nothing to do with good looks because you are one handsome and sexy guy."

Gibbs felt himself blushing. Tony smiled, "I could go on forever sounding like a goofy sap, I'm sure. Should I?" Gibbs shook his head and cleared his throat, "No, but thank you for what you said."

Tony nodded. "We said from the beginning we'd work at being open and honest with each other and talking about things instead of arguing all the time and ending up in a bad place. I think we've done a really good job of that for two guys, one of which always claimed he doesn't like to express his feelings." Tony said with a grin.

Gibbs chuckled, "I guess if you want to make something work you learn to express your feelings or risk screwing it all up."

"Is it bad that, as much fun as I've had, I'm kind of sad we aren't with Theo?"

Gibbs laughed and said "No, that's not bad. I miss him too. He's probably in bed by now. I wonder if Abby put him in the crib. Want to go find out?" Tony nodded. They paid for the bill and left for home.

They walked in and Tony said "Abby, we're home." Abby was walking down the stairs.

"No good?" Gibbs said.

"I don't think he took too well to not having his daddies to sleep with. I tried him in the crib and he screamed. I gave him a few minutes but he was pissed off in a bad way. So I got him out and calmed him down. Then I lay in bed with him. He seemed to do okay for a minute but then he got restless and started crying again. I rubbed his back but he was getting really worked up again. I picked him up and rocked him and he finally fell asleep after a while. Then, not twenty-five minutes later, he was screaming again. I just got him back to sleep after he was hysterical for a good ten minutes."

"Oh, Abs, we're so sorry. We probably should have planned to go out a little earlier and done bed time ourselves."

"Don't worry about it, guys. Seriously, it's no problem."

"He was okay other than bed time?" Tony asked. Abby nodded, "He was great. He's so much fun!"

They heard Theo crying upstairs. Gibbs looked at Tony, "I'll go. You pay Abby. Abby, thank you so much. I'm sorry bed time was such a hassle." He kissed her cheek and headed upstairs.

He found Theo on their bed on his stomach, beside the bed rail, red-faced and screaming. He picked him up and held him against his chest, rocking gently. "Hey, Little Bean, you're okay. Shh. Papa's here," Gibbs said in a soothing voice. After a few minutes of rocking and quiet talking, the baby began to calm down. Gibbs rubbed his back, "Are you being a mad baby tonight, Theo?" He kissed his head and continued rocking.

Tony walked into the room, "And you're telling me you want a second one?"

Gibbs sighed; maybe it would take a lot more convincing than he had thought.

**What did you think? I'm sure there will be more to come in the next couple of days. Thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I hope everybody is still enjoying the story! Leave me a review, please! :)**

Gibbs walked into the living room from the kitchen to find Theo by the TV, DVDs in a pile all around him. "Oh, baby, you're not supposed to do that. You're not supposed to be in the DVDs, what are you doing?" He picked Theo up and put him back beside his toys.

He crouched down and started putting the DVDs back when he felt little hands on his leg. He looked down at Theo who was sitting on his knees, suddenly looking much older than his nine months. Theo grinned up at Gibbs and patted his leg. He crawled around to Gibbs's other side and grabbed a DVD. Sitting up, he began to chew on the case. He took it out of his mouth and raised it in the air, waving it around. "Dada! Dada!"

"Yeah, that's Dada's movie. I don't think he'd appreciate you chewing on it, bud. Let me have that, please." Gibbs held his hand out. Theo grinned and turned, getting into the crawling position. And then he took off.

"Oh, no you don't." Gibbs grabbed him before he could get away and pulled him onto his lap. "You're a troublemaker, Theodore." He took the DVD from him and put it with the others. "Come on, how about a little time in your bouncy toy here so I can actually get something done today?"

With Theo confined and entertaining himself, Gibbs finished picking up the DVDs then cleared some of the toys from the floor. He got some of Theo's laundry folded and put away. When he got back in the living room, he fell back onto the couch with a sigh.

"Papa's tired, buddy. I don't suppose you would go for another nap?" Theo grinned and bounced excitedly. "Didn't think so." Gibbs felt tired in a way that he hadn't felt in a long time. At nine months, Theo had yet to sleep through the night. The longest stretch they had gone so far was five hours and then Theo decided to wake up every hour after that. They were going to try him in his crib tonight. Since Abby had put him in it a few months ago, they hadn't tried again.

But after nine months with little sleep, they were now planning to try him in his crib. Gibbs had suggested that maybe Theo needs his own space and they had been putting him in bed with them all this time. Tony had said "It's worth a shot."

Gibbs got up and picked Theo up, "How about a snack?" He walked into the kitchen and put Theo in his high chair. Theo was starting to eat real foods now, mostly soft things that he could chew easily. He loved crackers and cheerios. Gibbs put a few crackers on his tray and added a small handful of Gerber's Fruit Puffs.

"Can you say thank you?" Gibbs said as he signed "thank you." Theo signed it back and grinned. Gibbs signed and said "good boy" then clapped and said "Yay!" Theo clapped excitedly and babbled something. Gibbs and Tony had been working with Theo the past couple of months with signing. Gibbs had taught Tony some of the basic signs and they started using them with Theo. Theo could now sign "more" and "please" without being prompted and they were working on "thank you" and "all done" which he could sign but so far only did when asked to. They also thought he sometimes signed "eat" but it was hit or miss.

Theo held a puff up in Gibbs's direction. Gibbs bent down and ate it from Theo's fingers. He signed "thank you" and said "That's so nice, baby." Theo grinned and bit into a cracker. Gibbs's cell phone rang in the other room. "Be right back," he said and went to grab his phone.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Hello handsome."

Gibbs laughed, "Hi Tony. What are you doing, goofball?"

"Driving to a crime scene. I thought I'd call and see how you two are doing."

"We're doing good; Little Bean is having a snack right now. He's been into everything, as usual. I have a feeling we're going to have an early walker. When he was holding onto the couch, walking around, he let go and came toward me. He only fell toward me and it's a good thing I was right there to catch him, but he's starting to let go now. It's kind of scary. I haven't even gotten the hang of this crawling stage yet."

"Tell him I said he's not allowed to grow anymore. He's getting way too old, way too fast," Tony said.

"Theo, Daddy says _no more_ growing." Theo grinned and waved his cracker around. "Theo says you're a funny guy. Do you think you'll be home for dinner tonight?" Tony often worked from early morning until almost bed time.

"I'll try to be, but I won't make any promises. I'm sorry, Jethro. I know it must be hard with me gone all day, every day."

"Uh uh, remember I said from the beginning I wouldn't make a big deal about your hours. I know how it is; I can hardly blame you for working when you do," Gibbs told him.

"You're the best. I have to go, we're almost there. I love you. Tell Theo I love him."

"I love you and he loves you too." They hung up and Gibbs got Theo a sippy cup of water. "All done with your snack, Theo?" Gibbs cleaned his tray and let him finish all of the water that he wanted before getting him out. He put him down on the kitchen floor and not even two seconds had passed before he was crawling as quickly as possible away from Gibbs.

"What are you up to? I know you're up to no good, but where exactly are you going, huh?" Theo stopped crawling and looked back with a grin before taking off again.

The rest of the day was spent playing with and chasing after Theo. They went for a short walk outside and read a book when they got back. Theo cruised back and forth holding onto the front of the couch. He managed to pull out the DVDs again, he also found some books that Tony had left lying around. Gibbs found him before he tore the books up but it was a close one. After Gibbs had folded some laundry and left it sitting on the couch, he went to the bathroom. In the two minutes it took him to get back to the living room, the laundry was covering the floor and Theo was crawling around with a shirt over his head.

They ate dinner together and Gibbs got Theo in the bath. While he was washing Theo's hair he heard Tony calling his name and running up the stairs. Tony peeked into the bathroom and grinned. He walked in and kissed Gibbs before crouching down to take over bath time. Gibbs dried his hands and leaned against the bathroom counter.

"Did you have a good day?"

Tony glanced back, "Yeah, it was good. McGoo is really proving to be an excellent senior field agent. I'm sure it was my influence all those years."

Gibbs laughed and said "I'm sure."

"How was your day?"

"Oh, the usual. Chased Theo, cleaned, chased Theo, did laundry, chased Theo, went for a walk, chased Theo…"

"I'm sensing a pattern here," Tony said.

"You think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said with a chuckle.

They finished up with the bath and got Theo in his pajamas. They were planning to put him in his crib around 7:45 and it was 7:40 now. Tony spent those five minutes holding Theo, rocking him gently and talking quietly to get him settled a little.

Gibbs walked over to them. "Maybe I better put him in, he knows you'll get him the second he fusses," he said with a smirk. Tony glared, "You get him just as quick as I do when he fusses."

Gibbs smiled, "Well, at least I wait a _few_ seconds. You don't." Tony laughed and handed him to Gibbs. He gave Theo a kiss and said "Goodnight, Little Bean. I love you," before walking out of the room.

Gibbs kissed him and told him he loved him. He lay him down in the crib and handed him his blanket. He turned off the light and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Tony was eating some leftover pizza when Gibbs got downstairs. He found the baby monitor and turned it on. They could hear Theo moving around, but so far he wasn't fussing or crying. Tony looked mildly surprised and smiled.

After about fifteen minutes there was finally total silence on the baby monitor. Theo hadn't fussed or cried once. He had moved around a lot and occasionally babbled in a whisper but he had gone to sleep on his own in the crib with no problems.

"Is this actually happening? Do we actually have a couple of hours to ourselves?" Tony said.

Gibbs nodded, "Looks that way. I think I'm going to go work on the boat, want to join me?" Tony shook his head and said "Maybe in a little while. I think I'm going to put a movie in."

Gibbs worked on the boat for a couple hours before heading back upstairs where he found Tony asleep on the couch. He gently rubbed his fingers down Tony's cheek and whispered his name. Tony's eyes opened slowly and he smiled. "Let's go up."

They went upstairs and stripped down to their boxers. Tony peeked into Theo's crib before slipping into bed beside Gibbs. "He's still out," he whispered as he turned on his side to get comfortable. Gibbs scooted against his back and draped his arm over his stomach. He kissed Tony's cheek and said "I love you." Tony whispered "I love you" back to him.

Gibbs woke the next morning with a smile on his face. Theo had only woken up once during the night. That had never happened before. Gibbs thought he could get used to this thing called sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Gibbs was sitting at the kitchen table with Tony when Theo walked up to him and laid his head on Gibbs's leg. Theo was a year old now and had been walking since he was ten months. He had been determined to walk and didn't give up until he got it. Gibbs ran his hand over Theo's soft hair and said "What's wrong, baby?" He picked him up and Theo laid his head on his shoulder. "You okay?" he asked gently as he rubbed his back.

Tony got up to put his cup in the sink and Gibbs handed Theo to him. "Are you tired, Bean?" He went to switch Theo to his other arm when suddenly Theo threw up all down the front of Tony's shirt. Tony stood in stunned silence for a moment. Theo began to scream and Gibbs jumped up to take him. He held Theo to him and rubbed his back, "Shh, baby, you're okay. Do you have a belly ache? Is that what's wrong?" He rocked him gently and his cries began to subside.

Tony took off his shirt and balled it up. He got a towel and wiped the floor before taking it and his shirt to the laundry room. Then he wiped the area with Lysol and washed his hands. Gibbs went into the living room with Theo and sat on the couch with him. He looked pitiful and tired. "How about a nap? Maybe you'll feel better when you wake up." Gibbs took him upstairs and put him in his crib. Ten minutes later he was asleep.

He was on the couch with Tony. "Let's hope that was just a onetime thing. He's never been sick before," Tony said. Gibbs nodded. "Let's hope." Thirty minutes had passed when they suddenly heard Theo wailing on the baby monitor. They both ran upstairs to find both Theo and his crib covered in throw up. "Okay, get him in the tub. I'll change the sheet," Gibbs told Tony.

Tony got Theo out of the bed and carried him into the bathroom. Gibbs could hear the baby crying in the bathroom as he took the sheet off of his mattress. He went into the bathroom and grabbed Theo's dirty clothes off the floor and brought everything to the laundry room. After he put a clean sheet on the bed, he went into the bathroom where Tony was getting Theo out of the tub.

Tony dried him off and handed him to Gibbs. Gibbs put a diaper on him and lay him on their bed. "Looks like it wasn't a onetime thing."

Tony shook his head and rubbed his hand down his face with a sigh. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Try to keep him hydrated and rested, same as if you were sick. It just might be a little harder with him." Theo's lip pouted and he began to cry. Gibbs picked him up and rocked him while rubbing his back. Theo's breath hitched and he clung onto Gibbs, crying on his shoulder.

"How about a song, baby? You want a song? How about "sunshine"?" Gibbs said softly then began to sing in a quiet voice, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; you make me happy when skies are gray…" Theo's cries began to quiet some, "You'll never know dear how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." He immediately started the song over when he finished. He repeated it four times before Theo's eyes started to droop closed.

They spread an old blanket over their bed and lay down on it with Theo. They lay talking quietly while they kept an eye on their boy. After a while, Gibbs dropped off to sleep also. They had been asleep for about an hour with Theo started crying right before he threw up on the bed. He cried and frantically tried to get to Gibbs where he clung to him and laid his head on his shoulder.

Gibbs tried to hand Theo off to Tony but when he started to pull him away, Theo screamed "Nooo!" and clung tighter. Gibbs rocked him and said "I'm going to give you to Daddy. Go to Daddy, Bean." Theo said "No no!" as he cried. He held onto Gibbs, crying, and said "Papa. Papa," in a small, pitiful voice. This was the first time they had heard him say "Papa."

Gibbs rubbed his back, "Okay, Papa's got you. I'm right here. Shh." Tony took the blanket off of the bed and went downstairs with it. Gibbs wasn't sure how Tony would feel about Theo not wanting to go to him. It was the first time he had shown any kind of preference for wanting someone.

Tony came back upstairs and rubbed Theo's back. "He doing okay?" Gibbs nodded and watched Tony. Tony bent forward and kissed Theo's head. He didn't seem to let it bother him and Gibbs was glad. He didn't want something like that to upset Tony because they both knew that Theo loved them both equally.

Theo was sick several more times before the day was over. He ended up in their bed that night to sleep and was restless most of the night.

Gibbs woke up to bony little elbows digging into his stomach. Theo was awake and leaning over him to look at Tony who was asleep.

"Hi baby, are you feeling better?" Theo laid his head on Gibbs's chest. He patted Tony's face and whispered "Dada."

Tony woke up and rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes. Gibbs said, "Looks like we've made it through our first illness. And I think we came out okay in the end." Tony didn't say anything and sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Jethro…"

"Tony?"

"I don't feel so good," Tony said as he bolted for the bathroom. Maybe they hadn't come out okay in the end after all. Gibbs had a feeling it was going to be another really long day. A sick Tony might be worse than a sick baby.

**What did you think? I hope you're enjoying the story! Thanks for reading.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I struggled a little with this chapter for some reason so I hope it's not too bad! Reviews make my day, so please leave me one. Enjoy and thanks for reading!**

Theo walked over to Gibbs and held up a book. After Theo's nap, Gibbs had decided a trip to the library might be a good way to break up the day. He took the book from Theo and walked over to a small child's table and put it on it. "Come read your book, bud." Theo sat in the chair and opened the book, looking at it in interest and concentration. Gibbs grabbed a book off of the shelf he was standing by and leafed through it absentmindedly.

His phone rang and he put the book back, with a glance at the screen he saw that it was Tony.

"Hey, I'm at the library with Theodore. What's up?" he said in a quiet voice.

"Oh, hey. I was just calling while I had a minute. I can let you go, though."

"No, that's okay. Let me step outside so we can talk." Gibbs had Theo put his book back where it belonged and, holding his hand, walked outside and sat on a bench. Theo walked back and forth along the bench while Gibbs talked on the phone. "Careful, Theo." Gibbs advised gently.

"I've been thinking about the whole baby thing," Tony said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Gibbs said warily. The topic of having another baby had been a really rocky one the past few months. Tony was very indecisive about it. One day he would be saying things like "When the second one comes" and the next day he would say something like "The second one? I haven't agreed to a second one." Gibbs understood that he needed to think it completely through and decide for himself and he was letting him do that. But sometimes he got a little tired of his emotions getting jerked around with the "yes, a second one" and "no, no second one."

"I was thinking maybe instead of trying when Theo is three, we could try when he's two. That way they'd be about three years apart. He's sixteen months now, that gives us eight months until he's two. Then we could find a surrogate. The process of finding one and actually getting pregnant could take a while. Might be good timing."

Gibbs didn't say anything as he picked Theo up from the edge of the bench and made him sit down. "I think that's fine if that's what you really want but don't make that decision lightly, Tony. We're talking a whole year here. Less time alone with Theo, kids closer in age, a baby and a small child. Have you thought about these things? I'm okay with either age, but you're the one that was insistent on waiting until he was three to begin with. And you change your mind about a baby every day. You suddenly want to do this a whole year earlier?"

"I have been thinking about…" he suddenly went silent and Gibbs heard a quiet "hi" before he said "I have been thinking about this a lot. I don't know why I decided I'd prefer to start when he's two but it's been on my mind and…" he stopped talking again and Gibbs heard "What do you need, McGee?" and a few seconds later Tony said "I guess we'll talk about this later, I have to go," before hanging up.

Gibbs snapped his phone shut and picked Theo up. "Would you like to go back inside or go bye-bye?" Theo waved his hand and Gibbs said "Okay, let's go bye-bye."

On the drive home, Gibbs tried to get Theo talking. He was very advanced in the language area. But he only spoke when he wanted to. Tony always said he was "just like his Papa."

"Theo, I see a dog out there. Do you remember what a dog says?" There was silence. "What does a dog say?" Theo babbled something quietly.

"What?" Gibbs asked softly. Theo jabbered something again. Gibbs tried to understand what he was saying. Theo said something again.

"I don't know what you're saying, baby."

"'Side, 'side!" Theo said impatiently.

"We'll be outside soon, Theo. Just a few more minutes. Hey, what color is your shirt, buddy?" He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Theo looking down at his shirt. He looked back up and didn't say anything. Gibbs muttered, "So stubborn" under his breath.

Theo's favorite thing to say was "How are you?" He said it often and to most everybody. He said more words than Gibbs and Tony could keep up with and said a few other three to four word sentences. He was usually just too stubborn to actually speak.

When they got home Theo colored and did some puzzles, they read some books, and then Gibbs turned on the TV for Theo while he started dinner.

Gibbs walked into the living to check on Theo and stopped short. His mouth fell open in shock. The floor, couch, coffee table, movie stand, and Theo himself were completely covered in baby powder. They had had two full bottles of baby powder they had been meaning to get rid of because they didn't use baby powder on Theo.

"Theodore…Henry…Gibbs," he said in a low, shocked voice. Theo looked up at him before looking down. He looked back up and smiled, "Iss snow." Gibbs rubbed his hand down his face and sighed.

"This is not snow, Theodore. And this was not nice." He groaned and took Theo's hand. "High chair for you, I need to try to clean this mess up."

Half way through getting the room cleaned, Tony walked in and stopped short. He looked around before saying "Rough day?"

"You can either finish cleaning this or you can finish cooking dinner."

"I'll be in the kitchen," Tony said as he walked out of the room.

Gibbs got the room cleaned as best as he could then joined Tony and Theo in the kitchen for dinner. While they were eating, Tony said "I want to have a second one and I want to start trying when Theo is two."

"And this is _your _decision? You're deciding this because it's something _you_ want? Not just because I want it?"

"Not just because you want it. I want another one." Tony smiled and reached over to squeeze Gibbs's hand. Gibbs smiled back, still feeling a little wary. He decided he would be cautiously happy about Tony's decision until he was really sure Tony would go through with it.

Gibbs wiped Theo's face and hands clean and got him down from the high chair. Theo took off for the living room. "Stop right there," Gibbs said. Theo stopped and turned around. "Daddy is about to put you in the bath. Come here and let me get you undressed for him." Theo huffed and walked back over to Gibbs. Gibbs pulled his clothes off and left him in his diaper. Tony was finished with dinner and walked over to them. He took Theo's hand, "Come on, upstairs for a bath. I think you put Papa at his wit's end with your baby powder stunt today," he was saying as they walked out of the room.

Gibbs went downstairs to work on his boat. He was enjoying the time to himself and the quiet of the basement. He had been down there about thirty minutes when he suddenly heard loud music upstairs. "Do I even want to know?" he mumbled to himself before heading for the stairs.

He heard "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses blaring from the stereo. When he got to the doorway he saw both Tony and Theo dancing. Tony was doing air guitar and dancing and Theo was bouncing around and adding an occasional shake to his butt. Gibbs couldn't help it; he started laughing really hard. Tony looked over, and never missing a beat, grinned, "Come on, Jethro. Come rock out with us."

Gibbs, still chuckling, shook his head, "You know I don't dance."

Theo yelled, "Papa!" and ran over and grabbed his hand. He pulled until Gibbs started moving forward. Gibbs stood there awkwardly while Theo started dancing again. He felt a little hand tugging on his pants and looked down to see his little boy staring up at him, wanting him to dance. Then he thought, "Why not?" and let go, dancing, or rather "rocking out", with his lover and his son. He loved every second of it.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. Things got busy with school and such and then I decided to get my story betaed :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review to let me know what you think! Thanks! ****Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

It was 6:45 on Tuesday morning and Theo was standing at the front door wailing. "Dada!" he cried pitifully. "Dada!" Tony had had a three day weekend and had spent all of it with Gibbs and Theo. Theo was used to Tony being gone all day long, most days of the week. This weekend he had gotten used to having his Daddy around to play with him.

He put his hands on his face and continued to cry.

"Come here, baby."

Theo looked at Gibbs, the crying never faltering. "Dada!"

"I know, Little Bean, I'm sorry. Dada had to go to work. He'll be back around dinner time, like always. Come here, come see me."

Theo slowly made his way over and climbed onto the couch beside Gibbs and sat against him. Gibbs ran his hand over his head and said "What do you want to do today?"

"Watch da TB?"

"We can watch some TV, maybe. But we have to do other things too."

"Watch more da TB?"

"You know we don't watch very much TV, what's got you hooked up on it all of the sudden? Are you turning into a mini-Daddy?"

Theo looked up at him "Dada be home soon?"

"Tonight, son. How about you color a picture?"

"Okay," Theo said agreeably.

Gibbs brought him down to the basement with him and set him up with some paper and crayons so he could work on his current project while Theo was busy. He and Tony needed a new bookcase so he decided to start one. They spent a good part of the morning down there, Gibbs working and watching Theo. Theo kept himself entertained and often "helped" Gibbs.

Gibbs decided to take a break and go upstairs with Theo. They walked up the stairs together and Gibbs said "Thank you for the help, Theo. I needed some good help and you did an excellent job."

Theo looked proud and held his head up higher, "I build like Papa." Gibbs smiled at him, "Yes, you do build things like Papa." He held his hand out and Theo slapped it in a high-five.

"I want more TB."

Gibbs scowled slightly then put a neutral expression on his face. "Can you ask nicely?"

"Please I want more TB."

Gibbs snorted, "Close enough. You can watch one more show now and one more in the afternoon but that's it, L.B. Then you have to do other things like you usually do. Did Daddy put you in front of the TV when I was gone or something?" Gibbs had run out to do a few things while Tony stayed with Theo. Theo had never cared too much about the TV; he was usually way too busy to sit and watch it. Sometimes Gibbs left it on as background noise but Theo was constantly moving and doing stuff, stopping only once or twice to actually watch and listen. So he figured either Tony had let him watch it a lot while he was gone or maybe Theo was getting a little more interested in it now at twenty months.

He turned the TV on for Theo and grabbed his cell phone to call Tony.

"DiNozzo," Tony answered.

"Hey, busy?"

"A little bit. How is Theo?"

"He cried for a little while but I got him distracted. He's watching TV right now. I think he's turning into you," Gibbs said.

"Never a bad thing," Tony said. Gibbs smirked. Tony continued, "Can we go out to eat tonight?"

"Out to eat?"

"Yeah, you know that thing we've hardly done in almost two years. You remember those things called restaurants?"

"Oh _yeah_, I remember. Those still exist, huh?"

Tony snorted, "Yeah. McGee and Ziva want to go out. And Abby..."

"Ducky?"

"Ducky, Palmer, yeah. Everyone."

"Okay, sounds good. You're planning on going somewhere besides a bar, right? I mean if Abby and Ducky are there too, that leaves us with no babysitters."

Tony laughed and said "Yeah, no bar. An actual restaurant and dinner. And I'll be coming home before we go, I'll need a quick shower."

Gibbs and Theo kept busy the rest of the day and Theo took a good nap like always. Gibbs was getting him dressed when Tony got home. Tony picked up a half-dressed Theo and hugged him close. He put his head against Theo's and closed his eyes, rocking gently. Gibbs gave him a minute then walked over and put his hand on Tony's back.

"You okay?" He asked softly.

"New case, a dad and his son and daughter murdered," Tony said so quietly Gibbs almost couldn't hear him. He rubbed his hand up and down his back and kissed his temple. Tony kissed Theo twice, sighed, and handed him back to Gibbs. "I'll be in the shower," he said as he placed a kiss on Gibbs's lips.

Gibbs finished getting Theo dressed and changed into a gray polo and khaki pants. Tony was showering with the door open and Theo was in the bathroom sticking his head into the shower, talking to Tony. Gibbs went in to brush his teeth as Tony was getting out.

"Remember that time I popped your butt with the towel?" Tony asked, humor in his voice.

"Yeah, I remember you ran screaming like a girl when I turned around."

Tony huffed a laugh, "That wasn't… I did not scream like a girl. That was more like…yelping or…"

"Shrieking like a little girl."

"Or shrieking like a little girl. But that is not the point. The point is I got you good. Oh, I will never forget it. Seeing the look on your face. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a look of genuine shock and surprise on your face. It was truly a perfect moment." Tony rambled as he dried off. Gibbs grinned at him and headed downstairs with Theo.

He waited patiently for a few minutes, keeping Theo entertained. Then his patience began to wear thin. He called up the stairs, "DiNozzo, let's go! Stop primping; you're hair looks fine!" Tony came running down the stairs. "You're such a priss sometimes," Gibbs said. Tony smiled widely and added a little bounce to his step.

"Come on, Jethro, let's go. What are you waiting for?" Tony said as he opened the door. Gibbs made a face at him and grabbed his keys. While he started the car, Tony got Theo in his car seat. After everyone was situated and buckled, Gibbs pulled out of the driveway and turned on some music for Theo. They were on the highway, getting close to the restaurant, and everything was going smoothly, until he saw flashing blue lights.

Gibbs swore and found a place to pull over. He looked over and Tony was shaking with laughter. He glared at him and Tony bit his lip and turned his head. Gibbs swore again.

"Is this the same man that lectured me for ten minutes the other day when I said crap in front of Theo?"

Gibbs glared again and got his license out. He turned down the music and rolled down the window.

"My wock n' woll!" Theo said in shock at it being turned down.

"Your rock n' roll has to be turned down for a few minutes, bud." Gibbs explained.

Tony turned in his seat and looked back, "Yes, Papa is in trouble so the music has to go down for a minute."

"Tony…"

Tony turned back around and said "I'd keep the attitude in check if I were you."

"I don't _have_ an _attitude_."

"He says in a snarl…" Tony mumbled. Gibbs took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. The policeman came to the window.

"Sir, I clocked you going 80 in a 55." Gibbs nodded and handed him his license and registration. He walked back to his car to write up a ticket. Gibbs continued to stare straight ahead moodily. He glanced over at Tony and found him biting his lip and trying his hardest not to smirk.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing."

Tony held his hands up in surrender and opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by Theo.

"We go bye-bye now. We go bye-bye now!" Theo said in an impatient voice.

"Okay, boo, we'll go soon," Tony assured him. "Who are we going to eat dinner with?"

Theo huffed in agitation and said "Uncle Ducky an' Aunt Ziva an' Uncle Pwobie…"

"Yeah?" Tony said in a calm voice, trying to keep Theo's attention to head off the fit that was about to be thrown, "Who else?"

"An' Uncle Palmer an' Aunt Abby. We go now?"

Gibbs turned back and said "Really soon, baby. Can you wait just a few more minutes and then we'll turn your rock n' roll back up?"

"Okay," Theo said in a strained but agreeable voice. Gibbs glanced back to see the policeman still in his car. He scrubbed a hand down his face and glanced at Tony again who was quietly drumming his hand on his leg.

Theo's patience could last no longer.

"Out now? Out now! Out now!" he screamed as he went completely tense in his seat.

The policeman made his way back with the ticket and handed it to Gibbs. They talked for a moment before he was able to go. He pulled out, going the speed limit this time. Theo was now crying hysterically in the back and saying "Get out now!" and "We be there now!"

"Hey, Theodore, I don't know what you're saying when you're screaming like that," Gibbs said calmly.

Theo continued to scream and started to kick his legs against the seat.

"Okay, I guess we have to go back home since Theo won't use his words instead of screaming. There's no screaming allowed in restaurants. Right, Daddy?" Gibbs briefly looked over at Tony.

Tony looked back at Theo, "Papa's right, buddy. If you have a tantrum you have to go back home and have no fun. That's kind of sad, huh?"

As they arrived and Gibbs parked, Theo was calming himself down but decided, in a moment of defiance and anger, to slam his head back into his car seat really hard. He went completely still and stopped crying with a shocked look on his face. Then his lip pouted and he started crying for real. Gibbs sighed and unbuckled, getting out of the car to get Theo. He held him to him and rubbed his back, "Shh, it's okay. Did that hurt? You can't do that, baby. Ouch."

Theo continued to wail in Gibbs's arms. Gibbs sighed and said "This was a great idea. This is exactly why we never go out to eat, Tony. The two or three times we've taken him out we've either gotten this or him being wild and all over the place. It's never good."

"You're just pissed because you got pulled over. Get over it, Gibbs." Tony said as he took Theo from him and started walking to the restaurant, calming Theo on the way. Gibbs locked the car and headed after them, slightly broody. He sighed; he knew he was being a jerk for no reason.

He walked in to find Theo on Ducky's lap and Tony smiling as he sat down beside McGee. Walking over, he put his hands on each side of Tony's head and bent down to kiss the top of it.

"Sorry," he whispered. Tony looked back and smiled, "No problem."

Gibbs patted McGee's back and squeezed his shoulder, "Good to see you, McGee." He bent down and kissed Abby's cheek, "Abs…" he grinned at her. He gave Ziva a brief one-armed hug and asked how she was doing. When he got to Palmer, he stared at him long enough to get him nervous and twitching. Then he grinned and said "How are you, Palmer?" and slapped his back. Palmer visibly relaxed and smiled.

Ducky stood up with Theo. "Jethro, how are you?" They hugged and Gibbs sat down between him and Tony. "Doing good, Duck. Been busy with Theo."

"I can imagine so," Ducky said with a nod. They talked a couple more minutes before Gibbs picked up the kids menu.

"Theo, look at me, please." Theo looked over at him.

"You can have…" Theo looked away again, distracted. "Theo, eyes on my face. You can have spaghetti or…" He wiggled around and looked past Gibbs at McGee and grinned.

"Can I see him for a minute, Duck? Thanks," Ducky handed Theo over to him. Gibbs sat him in his lap, facing him. He gently put his hand on Theo's chin and made him look at him, "You can have spaghetti or you can have macaroni and cheese or you can have chicken. Which one would you like?"

"Umm," Theo looked up in thought. "I like maca-cheese. Thank you." Gibbs smiled and said "Thank you, you can go back to Uncle Ducky now."

They ordered their food and everybody talked amongst themselves. Theo was passed around to each and every person. Somehow they got on the subject of the office.

Abby got a mischievous look on her face and said "So, be honest, did you two ever do anything in the elevator?"

Gibbs grinned and Tony laughed. "Define _anything_," Tony said as he waggled his eyebrows.

"_Don't_ define anything, Abs," Gibbs said with a laugh.

They were having a really good time and enjoying all being together again. Then Theo got tired and it all went downhill from there. He was sitting in Tony's lap and leaning up on the table. As he reached for something on the table he knocked Gibbs's drink over. It spilled down Gibbs's shirt and pants. He scooted back and Theo looked down then turned his face into Tony's chest before he started crying.

"I'm not mad, Theo. It's okay. It was an accident." Gibbs and Tony managed to calm him down. He was leaning back against Tony and rubbing his eyes.

Gibbs got up to go to the bathroom and Theo started to get down from Tony's lap. "I go with Papa." Gibbs turned around, "Stay with Daddy, Little Bean, I'll be back in a minute."

Theo didn't like that idea. He had a full blown tantrum, complete with kicking and screaming. Gibbs took his hand and bent down, "Let's go," he said in a low voice. He walked to the bathroom with Theo who was starting to calm down again. "Why are you so angry tonight, Theo?"

"I happy," he said as his breath hitched in his chest.

"Yeah? You're not acting very happy. Are you tired?" Theo shook his head no despite looking like he would pass out at any moment. Gibbs finished up in the bathroom and took Theo's hand again.

Theo stopped and refused to move. "Carry…" Gibbs picked him up and went back to their table. He put Theo down for a minute to get into his seat. Theo threw his head back and started wailing. He threw himself back onto his butt and folded over while he screamed. Gibbs got back up and picked his son up. In his tantrum, Theo kicked his feet into Gibbs's stomach and smacked his head into his cheek hard enough to make his eyes water.

Gibbs put him back down where he continued to cry. "I think this is our cue to go, guys."

Tony got up, "I'll go outside with him so he doesn't continue to disrupt the whole restaurant."

"Thanks, I'll be out in a minute." Gibbs took a minute to say bye to everyone and to promise to get together again soon. He kissed Abby's cheek again, ruffled McGee's hair, and squeezed Ducky's shoulder as he walked by. With a quick wave to everyone he walked out to find Tony and Theo.

Theo was in his car seat fighting sleep and still crying a little. Tony smiled at Gibbs when he got in the car, "Just like his Papa…" he said.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and started the car. A few minutes into the drive, Theo finally fell asleep. Gibbs was thinking about their dinner and Theo's tantrums. He really hoped the next one didn't have such a temper. And he really wasn't looking forward to the terrible twos.


	19. Chapter 19

**I hope you enjoy! Reviews would be very, very appreciated. It might be a little longer until the next part is up; I've got a lot of stuff I need to get done for school right now. Not _too_ long though, I'm working on it! :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Today was Theo's second birthday. They didn't have much planned for the occasion. The team would be coming over to hang out for a while. They would have lunch and cake; Gibbs and Tony had asked them not to bring any presents. They had gotten Theo a few things and felt that that was enough.

Gibbs watched as Theo darted past him, looking behind him with a half laugh, half screech before he saw Tony running past him as well. It was only 10:00 in the morning but Tony had insisted on giving Theo a cookie on his birthday. They rarely gave him sugary stuff mainly because they wanted him to eat healthy. But this was another reason; Theo was bouncing off the walls.

"And he's going to have cake too?" Gibbs asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, cake too. Get ready for it, Papa." Tony said as he breathlessly ran after Theo. They had been chasing each other around the house all morning, laughing and being generally loud. Gibbs loved it.

He sat back and watched his son and his lover. Theo was laughing and backing up slowly. Tony had a dangerous grin on his face and was leaning forward into a crouch. Suddenly he lurched forward and Theo jumped, began laughing hysterically, and ran in the first direction he could go.

Before he knew what had happened, Gibbs had a lap full of toddler. Little elbows dug into his legs as he climbed up, followed by bony knees before he got a foot to the crotch. With the breath knocked out of him, he held onto Theo and said "Okay, easy," in a slightly raspy voice. Theo grinned and put his hands on Gibbs' shoulders. "We having a party!" he said excitedly in Gibbs' face.

"The party hasn't even started yet. And you're already fired up, huh?"

"It is a wild party!" Theo said.

Gibbs' eyebrows rose. Hearing that from your two year old could never be a good sign. He looked over at Tony. "How is it that he has my genes but he's got your love of partying?"

Tony held his hand up and Theo slapped it in a high five before walking all over Gibbs' lap and jumping into Tony's arms. Tony smiled, "We just got a cool kid like that, Jethro."

Gibbs nodded and got up. "You need a nap before your birthday party."

"No, thank you." Theo said.

Gibbs smiled, "You can either go in your crib in your room or you can come lay down with me, but either way you're going to lie down. What's it going to be, Theo?"

Theo held his arms out for Gibbs and Tony passed him over. Gibbs placed a quick kiss on Tony's lips and said "Don't burn the house down or anything while I'm up there."

"You got it, Boss."

Theo raised his hand in a wave, "Night, Tony."

Tony looked horrified and said "Did he just… Did you just…?" Theo grinned and Gibbs laughed.

"Poor Daddy, he's heartbroken now. Go give him some love," Gibbs said and handed him back to Tony. Theo kissed Tony and said "Don't be too sad, Tony." Tony narrowed his eyes, "I don't like this at all."

Gibbs chuckled and took Theo back. He put him down in front of the stairs "Go on up, Bean. I'll be there in just a minute." Theo had been climbing the stairs by himself for a while now. They had let him very early on and had always emphasized how careful he needed to be. As he started up the stairs, Gibbs turned to Tony and put his hands on his face. He placed a soft kiss on his forehead, his nose, and his mouth.

"I'm sure he'll forget all about it and start calling you Daddy again. It's just a phase."

"Well, I don't like it," Tony said with a slight pout. Gibbs smiled and kissed him again. "I know. I'm going up now. I love you."

"I love you too."

Gibbs ran up the stairs to see what Theo was up to. He found him standing by the bed. With a smile he picked him up and put him on it, lying down beside him. Theo got up on his knees and grinned down at Gibbs. He stood up on the bed and walked around a little before he started jumping. Gibbs watched him for a second before saying, "Aren't you supposed to be napping?"

Theo smiled as he continued to jump. "I like jumping on the bed!"

"I know you do. And you can jump on the bed all you like later today but right now you should be lying down with me." Theo kept jumping and grinning. Gibbs sat up and looked at him seriously, "Either lay down right now or you can go to your crib. Now."

Theo flopped onto the bed and scooted over to Gibbs. He lay against him and sighed. He was restless for a long time, tossing and turning and trying to snuggle into Gibbs. When he started sucking on his fingers, Gibbs knew he would fall asleep soon. Theo had never cared about the pacifier though it had been offered. Ever since he was little he had sucked on his middle and ring fingers, mainly when tired or upset. It was a sure sign he was either trying to fall asleep or was comforting himself.

Gibbs realized he must have fallen asleep when he woke to a hand stroking his hair and lips nuzzling his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Tony.

"Hi. You guys planning on sleeping the day away? It's almost noon. You've been sleeping almost two hours."

Gibbs yawned and stretched. Theo was still asleep beside him.

"Think he'll sleep much longer?" Tony asked.

"Nah, he'll be up soon." Gibbs got up and went to the closet. Everybody would be arriving soon and he wanted to be ready when they did. He grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. When he turned around he saw Theo sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He looked up and saw Gibbs and grinned.

"Hi sleepyhead, are you ready to get dressed for your party?"

Theo ignored him, still smiling, and got down from the bed. He made his way over to the bathroom where Tony was.

"Hi Dada, what you doing?"

"Peeing. In the _potty,_" Tony said with emphasis. Theo was showing zero interest in potty training. They offered frequently and talked about it with him a lot, but decided if he wasn't showing interest they wouldn't push it. He was entirely too independent and stubborn to be pushed into doing something he wasn't ready to do.

"That's a good job, Dada."

Gibbs started laughing really hard. He looked around into the bathroom where Tony was now washing his hands, "That's a good job going pee-pee on the potty, Daddy."

Tony gave him an amused look and said "Thank you. I thought it was a pretty good job too."

Gibbs tapped Theo's shoulder. "Hey, you didn't answer my question. Are you ready to get dressed?"

"Okay!" Theo said agreeably.

"Okay, go grab a diaper for me, please." Theo ran out the door to his room to get a clean diaper and Gibbs got his clothes off of the bed. As Theo ran back in with a diaper, the doorbell rang. Theo got an excited grin on his face and turned to run the other way.

"Stop right there." Theo stopped. "Turn around." Theo turned. "Come here, please." Theo ran the other way. Gibbs snorted and shook his head, taking off after him. He grabbed him around the waist and scooped him up.

"You weren't about to run near the stairs, were you, Theodore?"

"No way, Papa."

Tony walked past them to go downstairs and get the door. Gibbs walked back into the bedroom with Theo. "If we do this quickly, we can go downstairs and see who's here for your party."

"Okay, we have a wild party."

Gibbs smirked, "You sound like Daddy, Little Bean." He got Theo dressed and they headed downstairs to see who was there.

"Uncle Ducky!" Theo yelled and ran at him, knocking into his legs before wrapping his arms around them.

"Hello, Theodore, and happy birthday, dear boy. Tell me, how old are you today?"

Theo looked down at his hands and held up three fingers before scowling and putting the third down. "I am two!"

Tony lifted a package off the table, "From Ducky."

"Duck, I thought we agreed no presents."

"You agreed, Jethro, I did not."

Gibbs gave him a look before smiling, "Thanks, Ducky. We really appreciate it." He gave him a one armed hug and told him to have a seat.

Soon everyone had arrived and they had all brought presents for Theo despite being asked not to bring anything. Abby scolded them and asked "You couldn't honestly expect us not to bring our favorite boy something on his birthday?"

"The thought crossed our minds," Gibbs said before thanking them all.

Theo was busy playing with everybody. He hung around Ducky a lot, but he also really took to Palmer whom he had always liked but had never paid too much attention to. Palmer had Theo laughing and talking and he in turn had Palmer laughing as well.

After everybody had eaten lunch, Gibbs and Tony sat on the floor with Theo to help him open his presents. "This one is from Uncle Ducky, Theo. Open it up and see what it is," Gibbs said.

Tony helped Theo, who was distracted by everyone, unwrap the present. "A new paint set, Theo! You needed a new paint set, huh, buddy?" Tony said. Theo grinned and leaned back against Gibbs' leg, completely uninterested in the presents. He put his head in Gibbs' lap and tried to turn upside down.

"Son…" Gibbs said with a chuckle as he turned Theo upright again.

He and Tony ended up opening most of the presents themselves because Theo was too busy being all over the place. Among his other presents were blocks from McGee, a small wooden train along with a train book from Ziva, and toy cars and a puzzle from Palmer. Abby got him several shirts with funny sayings on them. One of them said "I do all my own stunts," another said "I'm just too punk rock for this" with a skull and crossbones on it. She had already gotten him a black shirt with a skull and crossbones on it that Gibbs and Tony had occasionally put on him, mostly for Abby's sake. She also got him a really strange looking stuffed doll that he immediately took to and carried everywhere with him.

"Can you go give everybody hugs and tell them thank you, please?" Tony said as he put his hand on Theo's arm to make him be still. Theo launched himself at McGee who awkwardly patted his back, smiled down at him, and said "You're welcome" to the "Thank you, Uncle Probie!" After he had made it around to everyone, Tony said "Cake!"

Theo kneeled in a chair at the table rather than sitting in his highchair. They all sang to him and he varied between grinning and looking freaked out while trying to cling to Gibbs. When Tony told him to blow out the candles, he looked at him like he was crazy and raised his arms up wanting Gibbs to pick him up. Tony and Gibbs blew the candles out together and started cutting the cake.

After they were done, everybody went back into the living room. Tony and Abby snuck off into the kitchen and Gibbs could hear them talking quietly and trying to stifle laughter. He peeked in and they continued to smile but stopped talking. "You're up to no good," Gibbs said. They looked at each other and grinned and Tony held his hands up in innocence.

Going back into the living room, Gibbs decided to be somewhat on guard. He knew they were planning something and it couldn't be good.

Theo was playing quietly with Ziva; the sugar hadn't kicked in just yet. Gibbs watched them with a small smile. Theo was very patiently showing Ziva how to play with the toy he had.

Then it happened. The bottom half of his face was suddenly covered in cake. A hand smashed it in and rubbed. Everybody stopped and stared. Gibbs sat there, frozen momentarily in shock. He wiped his hand across his face to get some of it off and flung cake everywhere. When he looked back, Tony was standing there with wide eyes, mouth hanging open, and a hand covered in cake and icing. It was almost as if he had completely shocked himself doing it. Gibbs stood up and Tony yelped before he took off running.

"I'll be right back," Gibbs told their guests as he ran after Tony. He had run up the stairs and Gibbs caught up with him easily. He grabbed and pushed him against the wall, staring him down. Tony was clearly trying not to smile. Suddenly, he leaned forward and licked the side of Gibbs' face near his mouth.

"Look at the bright side, at least you taste good. Not that you don't normally taste good, because you d-…" he was cut off as Gibbs's mouth landed on his, equally kissing him and smearing cake on his face.

"Thank you, Jethro," Tony said with a slightly disgusted look on his face at having icing all over his chin and mouth. Gibbs smiled widely, slapped his hand against Tony's chest, and headed back downstairs.

Tony followed closely behind, "That was it? Really?" Gibbs continued to smile calmly at him. Tony got a nervous look on his face, smiled, and continued to follow but not quite so closely.

When they got back downstairs, they each wiped their faces off in the kitchen and Tony cleaned the mess up in the living room. Gibbs saw him glance at Abby and they both started laughing. When Tony saw Gibbs watching him, he closed his mouth tightly and looked down. Gibbs grinned and held back his laughter. He could easily torture Tony with this the rest of the day.

The sugar had kicked in with Theo who was now jumping up and down and, out of breath, singing a song.

"I've never seen him like this!" Ducky commented, amused.

"That's because he never gets sugar, Duck. You've seen him as he normally is, very busy. But you've never seen him full blown hyper. It's…something else."

Everybody stayed well into the evening and left around dinner time. Gibbs, Tony, and Theo had a quick dinner and then they took Theo up for a bath. Getting a clean diaper and pajamas on him was a struggle, to say the least. He ran around the room completely naked, laughing and trying to dodge them. Every time they got him and started to put something on him, he escaped again. They cornered him with Gibbs holding a t-shirt out ready to pull over his head. Theo stopped and held his hands out in front of him, "No thanks, guys! No thanks!"

Laughing, Gibbs picked him up and put him on the bed. "Diaper and a t-shirt, that's all we're asking. Then you're free."

"Diaper!" Theo demanded.

"Okay, just a diaper and then you're free. But you have to lie down and be still for a minute so I can put it on you, baby," Gibbs explained patiently. Theo fell back, breathing deeply. Gibbs just managed to get the tabs on the diaper when Theo was rolling over, ready to get up.

They all went back downstairs and Gibbs lay on the couch, eyes closed, trying to relax after a busy day.

"Let Papa rest, baby. He's tired," he heard Tony say quietly. Theo must have been making his way over. Peeking an eye open, he saw Theo walking back the other way. He got comfortable and felt himself drifting off.

"Jethro, let's go up," he heard Tony whisper and opened his eyes. "Theo's in bed, asleep. Come on," he said as he held his hand out. Gibbs took it and they walked upstairs together.

After stripping down to their boxers, they both crawled into bed. Gibbs, usually not one to initiate night time snuggling, scooted over to Tony and lay his head on his chest, wrapped a leg over his, and rested his hand on Tony's stomach. Sighing contently, he closed his eyes. He felt a feather light kiss to the top of his head.

"I'd say today was a success," Tony said quietly.

"Hmm," Gibbs hummed in agreement.

"I can't believe our boy is two already. It doesn't seem possible."

Gibbs nodded and rubbed his hand softly over Tony's stomach.

"But he's _so much fun_," Tony said. A small smile played at Gibbs' lips as he started to drift off in his lover's arms. He could agree with that; Theo was turning into a little person and what a fun little person he was.


	20. Chapter 20

**Tony's first night alone with Theo. And some baby news! :) Enjoy!**

Gibbs was exhausted. He had gotten a call from his dad late last night saying that he'd hurt his foot and wasn't really able to be on his own. Not knowing what else he could do, he'd offered to go get him and bring him back to their place for a while. He would be leaving when Tony got home from work. Not only had he gotten that late night call but he had been up at 4:00 in the morning with Theo after a restless night.

"Theo, why do you have Daddy's stuff?" Gibbs asked with a tired sigh.

"It's my work, Papa."

"I don't think so. Let me have that, please." He held his hand out and Theo reluctantly, with a scowl, handed over the papers. Tonight would be his first night away from his son and he was a little nervous and sad about that but at the same time he was kind of looking forward to the break. Since he had retired when Theo was a month old he'd had _maybe_ four or five kid-free days and even those hadn't been the entire day. Theo was now two and a half years old and an extremely active kid. A break would be very nice.

Gibbs walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water where he saw a note on the fridge. He and Tony would be going to the first ultrasound of their second baby tomorrow. After much discussion and many back and forth decisions with Tony, they had decided they would try for one more baby. Shortly after Theo's second birthday they had begun the search for a surrogate.

The woman that they ended up choosing was named Lucy. She was a sweet, soft spoken woman who had one child of her own. For their second child, they had decided to use Tony's sperm; Lucy was successfully pregnant the second time they tried which was faster than Anna had gotten pregnant with Theo. Lucy was now ten weeks pregnant.

With a glass of water for himself and a cup of milk for Theo, he made his way back into the living room. Theo was sitting on the coffee table, stealthily pushing papers off the end of it with his foot. Glancing up at Gibbs, he looked him right in the eye as he knocked the TV remote onto the floor. Gibbs just barely resisted rolling his eyes. Theo was very much into testing limits these days.

"After you get down and pick those things up, you can have some milk," Gibbs said calmly. Theo swiped his hand across the table and knocked his book off.

"Or I can put this milk away and you can sit in time-out. It doesn't bother me," he said as he turned around to take the milk back to the kitchen. They had just recently introduced time-outs. He had only ever been put in time-out twice and both had been pretty unsuccessful with Theo giggling the whole time and getting up every two seconds. It had been more frustrating for Gibbs than the boy. Gibbs and Tony typically always tried talking with Theo first rather than immediately going to punishment and that was usually enough to solve any problems. But sometimes the threat of time-out was needed.

Theo got down. "Okay, okay! I do it!" He quickly went to pick up the things he had pushed off the table. When he was done he turned around. "Milk?" he asked as he signed "please."

Gibbs grinned and put the cup of milk on the table. Theo went to sit back on the coffee table and Gibbs grabbed his shirt. "No, son, if you want your milk you have to stay off the table. There's no lid on this so you have to stand and use two hands." Theo drank a sip of milk before running off in search of something.

As Gibbs was sitting down on the couch, the front door opened. Tony walked in carrying a box with a guilty expression on his face. Gibbs was immediately suspicious.

"Before you freak out…" Tony began.

"You starting off like that pretty much means I'm going to freak out." Gibbs said.

Tony sat the box down and kneeled down in front of it. When he turned around he had a puppy in his arms.

"No. Absolutely not. No. Forget it."

"Jethro…"

"Not even going to discuss it, Tony. You can deal with it while I'm gone and then…do something with it."

Tony looked upset, "They were going to take him to the pound, Jethro!"

"I don't care, Tony. We're not keeping him. He's a puppy, just about any family will be glad to take him."

Tony walked closer with the puppy, a beagle. He held the puppy up about an inch from Gibbs' face. "Look at him, Jethro."

"We're not keeping him. You can get the idea out of your head right now. I'll be the one who has to take care of him all day, every day."

"I'll…I'll potty train him, Jethro," Tony said in a slightly pleading voice.

"Yeah? When do you plan to do that? On the weekends and during the night? You're never home, Tony. You don't even try to help me motivate our _kid_ to go to the bathroom. Why should I think, when you're gone all day that you could or would potty train a puppy?"

Tony had the grace to look somewhat guilty and Theo ran back into the room. "Daddy!"

"Baby!"

Theo skidded to a halt and gasped, "A puppy!"

Tony put the puppy down and Gibbs glared. "I'm not going to take care of a small child, a baby, and a puppy. You can keep the puppy tonight while I'm gone but once I get back tomorrow evening, you'd better find somewhere."

Tony was silent as Gibbs grabbed his overnight bag from the couch.

"Are you leaving mad?" Tony asked quietly.

"Nah, more like I'm finding it really funny what you've done to yourself. First night alone with Theo and you also have to take care of a puppy?" Gibbs said. He patted him on the chest, "Good luck with that DiNozzo." Gibbs grinned at him and crouched down beside Theo.

"Can I have a bye-bye hug?" Theo looked up from the puppy and grinned, "You are going bye-bye?"

"Yeah, remember we talked about this. I'm going to pick up Grandpa and I'll be back tomorrow," Gibbs explained as he ran a hand over Theo's head. "You'll be here with Daddy until I get back."

Gibbs kissed Theo's head and rubbed a hand down his back. He got up and kissed Tony. "I'll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon. Call me." Tony nodded and Gibbs headed for the door.

"Wait, Papa, wait! Wait!" Theo said suddenly. Gibbs turned around and waited. "Come on, Papa. Come on. Sit, sit."

"I have to go now, baby. I'll be back before you know it. You'll have fun with Daddy; he's staying home from work with you tomorrow. I love you, Theo." He said as he turned back around and opened the door.

"Don't go, Papa, don't go." Theo said desperately as he grabbed Gibbs's pants tightly in his little fist. "Don't go, please, Papa." A memory crept into Gibbs's mind, of Kelly, begging him not to leave. Suddenly feeling like he couldn't breathe, he gave Theo a quick hug and got up. He noticed a concerned look on Tony's face and ignored it.

He could hear Theo crying loudly at the door as he shut it behind him. Taking a deep breath, he got in the car and pulled out quickly before he lost his nerve and ran back inside to his boy.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony, somewhat confused by Gibbs' quick departure, bent down and picked Theo up. "Papa will be back soon, Theo. Don't worry." He looked down at the puppy who was sniffing around the floor. "How about we take the puppy outside to go potty?" He suggested to Theo. With a sniffle, Theo nodded and said "Okay, Daddy" in a small voice.

They walked outside with the dog where it sniffed all over the backyard and peed at every stop it made. Tony praised him as best as he could without a treat to give him. He would have to make a quick run to the store with Theo to pick up a small bag of dog food.

He scooped up the puppy and with a "Come on, baby," to Theo, he headed back inside.

"Shoes, Theo. We have to go to the store for a minute. Then you can watch a show and go to bed when we get back."

Theo found his shoes and sat on the floor, holding his foot up. "Why we going to the store, Daddy?"

"To get the puppy some food."

"Why we get the puppy some food?"

"So he can eat. Puppies need to eat just like you and me."

"Why we need to eat, Daddy?"

"Because our bodies need food."

"Why our bodies need food?"

"Because…" he started then stopped, realizing this line of questioning was never going to end. "Hey, look, your shoes are on! Come on," he said and jumped up. He hesitated at the door, looking back at the puppy. He'd be okay for twenty or thirty minutes.

Tony buckled Theo in, drove a little too fast to the store, nearly succeeded in losing his son, quickly found a bag of dog food, and hurried back out. When they got back home, they could hear the puppy whining and howling inside. Tony unlocked the door and found a puddle of pee on the carpet.

"Didn't you pee enough outside?"

He turned on a show for Theo and went into the kitchen to find a bowl for the puppy's food. He brought the bowl back into the living room and put it down, whistling the dog over. "You need a name," he said, stroking his hand down the puppy's back. "Theo, name the puppy."

Theo, who was leaning against the coffee table and staring at the T.V., looked over at them. "Led Zeppelin!"

"Yeah, that's a nice name but it's kind of long. What else?"

"Jimi Hendrix."

"Again, good name but kind of long."

"I know, we name him Elvis."

Tony smiled. "Maybe. That could work."

"Listen to music." Theo said as he tugged on Tony's shirt.

"Okay, let me turn the computer on and play some songs from there." Theo had definitely gotten his love of music from Tony. That was one of their favorite things to talk about and they were always playing music; Tony figured Theo probably had more musical knowledge than any other two and a half year old around. He turned on the computer and turned off the T.V. while it started up.

Theo sat in the computer chair and started pressing the keys on the keyboard. Tony gently took his hands off and held them in his.

"Papa always sings Elvis," Theo said with a fond little smile on his face. Tony chuckled, "Oh _really?_" he asked with a bit too much glee in his voice. The things he missed being gone all day.

As Theo bounced around in the chair and danced to the music, Tony went to the kitchen to heat up some dinner and then stood at the computer desk to eat. Theo looked at him curiously. "What are you eating, Daddy?"

"Chicken and potatoes, from last night."

Theo perked up and kneeled in the chair, arms resting on the desk. He stared at Tony's plate.

Tony grinned. "Would you like a bite?" Theo helped Tony eat his dinner before Tony declared it bedtime. Gibbs had already bathed him for Tony and put him in a t-shirt for bed. "Come on, time to brush your teeth and change your diaper. Look at that thing, did you pee a gallon?"

Theo looked down before he reached his hands down and tore the tabs away, pulling the diaper off. He tossed it on the floor and headed for the stairs. "That's helpful, Bean. Thanks," Tony said dully as he picked up the diaper.

While Theo was brushing his teeth, the puppy started howling downstairs. Leaving his son for a moment, he ran back downstairs and picked the puppy up. "If you keep howling like a maniac, Jethro _definitely _won't let you stay." He headed back upstairs, puppy in arms. He looked down at the dog. "Elvis…Elvis…" he said. "No, you're not an Elvis. Led Zeppelin… What am I saying? A two year old came up with that," Tony babbled to himself. "You're too cute to be a Led Zeppelin anyway. Too bad I can't name you after Jethro like Abby did with that German Shepherd," he said with a grin. Then it occurred to him. "I've got it. This is perfect. I'll call you Gunny."

With his teeth brushed and a new diaper on, Tony took Theo to his bedroom. He put him in his crib and kissed him. "I love you, Theo. Goodnight."

Turning off the light, he shut the door and walked out. He realized he should probably take the puppy out again. "Come on, Gunny," he said as he picked the puppy up. After he was done outside, he lay a blanket down in the box that he had carried Gunny in and put him inside. He checked all the doors, turned off the lights, and went upstairs.

Tony fell into the bed with a yawn. Just as he was drifting off he heard howling downstairs.

With a groan, he rolled back off the bed and went downstairs. The puppy was getting himself worked up, whining and howling. Tony crouched down at the box, "Gunny, shh," he said as he scratched gently behind his ear. After a few minutes of quiet, when Gunny seemed settled, Tony started to go back upstairs. The howling immediately started again.

Swearing quietly, Tony picked the box up and went back to his bedroom with it. "Jethro would kill me, Gunny. And I don't want him to go to prison for murder. So you have to stay in the box."

Thirty minutes later, Gunny curled up on his chest, Tony started to drift off.

"Papa!" Theo wailed from the other room. Tony opened his eyes and laid there a moment, hoping that would be it. He had been on the brink of sleep and could still be there if there were no more interruptions.

"Papa! Papa!" Theo yelled. Tony put Gunny on the bed and went to Theo's room.

"What's wrong, baby?" he whispered. Theo was standing in his crib. "Papa," he said pitifully. Tony went over to him and lay him back down. "Shh," he soothed and began rubbing his back. When he thought Theo was asleep he began to move away. Theo started crying and sat up. "My Papa," he continued to wail. Tony picked him up and rocked him back to sleep. Theo had always been an awful sleeper and, even at two and a half years old, woke once or twice a night. He was hoping he had just woken earlier than usual tonight and that this would be it.

He finally got back to bed, where he had to put the puppy back on his chest, and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Papa! Daddy!" Tony jerked awake and, in a daze, hurried to Theo's room. He stumbled over to his crib and patted his back haphazardly. "Shh. Sleep, baby," he mumbled.

When he finally got Theo asleep he went back to his room to get Gunny and take him out again. He was half asleep as the puppy sniffed around and peed all over the backyard. Suddenly, Gunny plopped down on the ground and stayed there. "What is this? Come on, lazy." He yawned and rolled into his side. Tony whistled. "Gunny, let's go." He sighed and gave up, walking out into the yard to get him.

Crawling back into bed, Tony held Gunny to him and drifted off. It was a long night, with Theo waking several more times and having to take the puppy out to make sure he didn't pee in the bed or on the floor. Gibbs leaving for the night had clearly affected Theo; he hadn't had a night this bad in quite a while. Theo decided to get up for good at 3:45 in the morning. There had been no reasoning with him so Tony had brought him down to the living room and they lounged on the couch together, watching T.V.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent dealing with a tired and very moody little boy. There were plenty of tantrums and a refusal of nap. When he laid Theo in his bed, he screamed hysterically until Tony figured he would end up making himself sick and went to get him back out. He clung to Tony and continued to cry loudly, his face bright red and wet with tears. Tony rocked him, shushed him, and rubbed his back. He would almost be lulled to sleep when suddenly he would wake himself up and get mad all over again.

By noon they were both so frazzled that Theo pitched a fit at the smallest thing and Tony gave up even trying to talk to him. Instead, he paced around the house and was anxious for his lover to get back home.

When Gibbs did finally walk in the door, Tony sighed in relief and fell back onto the couch exhaustedly. Theo ran over to him and held his arms up. Gibbs picked him up and Theo clung to him pitifully. "Papa," he said in a small voice. Gibbs rubbed his back and said quietly, "What, baby?" Theo didn't answer, instead snuggling in closer.

Within minutes, Theo was completely passed out in his Papa's arms.

"You look tired, Tony."

"I am tired. Theo was a mess all night and all morning and I was up a lot with Gunny too."

Gibbs stared at him, "Gunny?"

"Oh, yeah. That's the puppy. His name is Gunny." He saw Gibbs pull in a deep breath as if to calm his temper.

Tony gave him an innocent smile before saying, "You look a little rough around the edges yourself, Jethro."

"You're not the only one who didn't get much sleep."

Tony frowned, "Why?"

A small smile played at Gibbs' lips. "I guess somewhere along the way, I got used to you wrapping yourself around me and smothering me half to death at night. I wasn't sure what to do with an empty bed." Tony grinned at that.

He went outside to help Jackson get inside the house. He had been napping in the car when they got here so Gibbs decided to run all of his stuff inside without waking him. When Tony got out there he was awake and opening the door.

Tony grinned widely, "Jack!"

Jackson smiled up at him, "There's my favorite boy. How have you been, Tony?" Tony helped him get up and into the house while they talked. When he was settled, they made sure he had everything he needed and said they'd be back in a little while. They were going to see their baby.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gibbs held Tony's hand as he drove to the doctor's office. The break he had been somewhat looking forward to hadn't been much of a break at all; he had spent most of it missing Tony and Theo.

When they arrived, he carried a still sleeping Theo inside where they met Lucy.

They made their way into the room for the ultrasound. The doctor asked Lucy some questions before getting her ready. When the picture came onto the screen, something seemed a bit odd to Gibbs but he wasn't sure what. He waited to see what the doctor said.

"Okay, everything looks great… with both babies." Gibbs felt like his heart had stopped. He was completely speechless for a moment before he stuttered out, "Both…both babies?"

The doctor smiled, "Yes, Mr. Gibbs, both babies. Congratulations to both of you, you're having twins."

Gibbs looked over at Tony who had his head down and his hand on his face. When he heard a sniffle, he couldn't help the small grin, "Are you crying?"

Tony shook his head and continued to look down with his face covered. Gibbs put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Tony looked up with tears on his face. His lip quivered and he blew out a soft breath. Gibbs rubbed his back and said "It's okay. We'll be fine." Tony nodded and got control of his emotions.

After they finished up with the visit and said goodbye to Lucy, they made their way back to the car in a daze. Gibbs put Theo in his car seat and got in to start the car. They rode home in complete silence.

They walked in and Gibbs quickly checked on his dad who was asleep. He let him be and went to the kitchen with Tony. "Well... this was a surprise," Gibbs said slowly.

Tony burst into tears.

"Tony," Gibbs said quietly with a chuckle. "Come here." He pulled Tony into a hug and rubbed his back.

"I was just on _this_ side of being okay with one baby, but two?" Tony looked overwhelmed and upset. Gibbs rested his forehead against Tony's and said calmly and quietly, "Listen to me. You're just stressed and overwhelmed. Believe me, I'm feeling it too." Tony sniffled and his breath hitched. "We will be fine. I promise you. It's a lot to take in right now, but we'll figure this all out. Okay?"

Tony nodded against him.

"Okay, good. Now go pay some attention to that dog outside," Gibbs said as he gently smacked Tony's hip. Tony looked at him in surprise and, wiping a hand across his face, headed for the backdoor.

"Come here, Gunny!"

Briefly wondering why Tony was calling him that, he yelled "Why are you yelling at me?"

Tony looked back in, "The puppy, remember?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and sat on the couch. Tony walked in carrying the puppy. He sat beside him on the couch. Gunny stumbled over his lap to get to Gibbs.

Gunny jumped up and stood with his paws against Gibbs' chest. He couldn't be more than maybe eight to ten weeks old. He and the dog stared each other down for a moment before Gibbs gave up and scratched him behind the ear. Gunny curled up on his lap and sighed contently.

"There's my beautiful grandson," Jackson said as he walked into the room with a smile.

"Grandpa!" Theo yelled as he started running around in circles. Gibbs jumped up and picked Theo up.

"You can't be wild around Grandpa right now, okay? He hurt his foot and he can't pick you up." Theo was straining against Gibbs' hold, trying to get down. "I mean it, Theo. Be calm or you can sit in my lap." Just as he was about to throw a tantrum, Gibbs put him down.

Jack slowly made his way over with the crutches he was using and Gibbs helped him sit on the couch. Theo ran at them and Gibbs pulled him back against his legs, looking down at him, "What did I just tell you?"

Theo glared at him and squirmed away, calmly walking over to the couch and climbing up. He grinned widely and stood up to get in his Grandpa's face. "Hi Grandpa!"

"Theo, how I've missed you. You need to tell your Papa and Daddy to bring you to my house more."

Jack looked up and asked, "And how is my newest grandchild doing?" Gibbs glanced at Tony before saying "They're doing great."

"They?" Jack asked, momentarily confused before it dawned on him. "_Twins_, Leroy?"

Gibbs smiled, "Twins, Dad."

"Congratulations, to all of you. You'll have your hands full!" He pulled Tony over for an awkward, one-armed hug.

Gibbs nodded, "I have no doubt about that. It still hasn't really sunk in yet, I don't think. We're still shocked."

They continued to talk and Theo played with his grandpa. Gibbs and Tony made their way to the kitchen while Theo and Jack were occupied. Tony leaned back against the counter while Gibbs sat at the table.

"I don't see how we can do this. You can't take care of two babies and a small child by yourself. That's too much."

Gibbs ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "It won't be easy but I'll manage. If you would be willing to discuss preschool…"

Tony immediately shook his head no. Gibbs resisted the urge to growl and calmly asked "Why? What exactly is it that you have against him going to preschool, Tony?"

"He's not old enough, Jethro. We decided you wouldn't go back to work for a reason, so you could stay home with him."

"He'll almost be three by the time the babies are born. It's not like I'm asking to ship him off to college. It's _preschool_. And it wouldn't be all day. We'd put him some morning program or something." Tony crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Okay, I'm willing to compromise. Three mornings a week instead of five."

"I'm not willing to compromise."

"You're being ridiculous!" Gibbs was getting angry in a hurry. "I'm going to _need_ this, Tony. A few mornings a week with just the babies so I'm not taking care of all three of them by myself all day, every day. Would you like to quit work and take care of three small children by yourself twelve hours a day? Because I'm sure I could find work."

Tony, with a pouty face, looked down. When he looked back up, he said "How would you drop him off and pick him up with two other babies?"

"I was hoping maybe most mornings you could drop him off and then I would go pick him up. I'm sure someone would be willing to help me get him to the car. And on the mornings you couldn't do it, I'd do drop off and pick up."

Tony looked overwhelmed and held his hands up, "Can we put this conversation on hold for right now? Twins and my baby in preschool all in one day?" Tony shook his head, "This is all hitting me way too hard."

Gibbs stood up and walked over to him. Leaning against him, he rested his hands on Tony's hips and kissed his forehead. "We'll figure it all out, Tony. It's overwhelming now, but one day it'll all be just another part of our daily routine. Our crazy hectic routine, but a routine nonetheless."

He was staying confident for Tony, but on the inside he was just as overwhelmed and terrified. How could he possibly take care of a small child and two infants? And a puppy, because no doubt they would end up keeping it, Gibbs thought as he barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He softly kissed the side of Tony's head and whispered "We'll be okay," assuring himself as much as he was Tony.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

"Are you ready to go visit your new school, Theo?" Gibbs asked his almost three year old son. He and Tony had talked to school after school with Tony shooting almost every one of them down immediately. They had finally agreed on a Montessori school that had a slot open for three mornings a week at Theo's age group. The price they would be paying was more than a little daunting, but after much discussion they had decided it was worth it to get him in the school they wanted. Gibbs would have been more than happy with most of the preschools they talked to; however, Tony was less than pleased about putting Theo in school, so Gibbs was humoring him.

"I'm going to school today?" Theo asked as he looked up from his drawing.

"Well, you're not really going to school today. We're just going to visit so you can meet your new teachers and see your classroom. You'll start school next week."

Theo finished what he wanted of the drawing and said "Okay. Let's go."

Gibbs grinned, "Can you go upstairs and tell Daddy to come on? I'm going to let Gunny out and go start the car." As Theo started up the stairs, Gibbs whistled and said "Outside, Gunny."

The energetic puppy ran over and jumped up with his paws on Gibbs' legs. Gibbs bent down to pet him then opened the door. "Behave," he called after the dog as he shut the door and locked it. Gibbs had successfully potty trained the dog already which was a relief. He was a very needy dog though who required constant attention. Gibbs had to make sure to take him outside for a walk or run and to play ball several times a day. When Tony got home from work at night, Gibbs made him take him out for a run one last time for the day. Some days it was all very tiresome and wearing and other days he loved every bit of it.

Gibbs walked outside to start the car and was joined a couple of minutes later by his lover and son. Tony buckled Theo into his car seat and got into the front seat.

"Are you excited that you're having a baby brother and a baby sister soon?" Gibbs asked Theo. They had told Theo about the twins shortly before they found out if they were boys or girls. When they asked him what he thought about it and if he was excited, he had replied "Um, that's okay. We have a puppy…" He had shown very little interest in the twins. Gibbs and Tony made a conscious effort to make it something he could relate to so it didn't seem like the babies would be taking Papa and Daddy away from him. They called them his babies when talking about them to him and asked if he would help take care of them.

"Yes, my babies be here soon." Theo said.

"Pretty soon," Gibbs agreed. He looked over at Tony. "You ready to have two little DiNozzos around the house?" The babies were Tony's biologically but Gibbs would be adopting them as his own too and they would take his last name like Theo.

Tony laughed, "I'm not as worried about them having my genes as I am there being two of them to take care of. Theo is about as active as they get and he has the worst tantrums ever. I can't imagine my kids would be any harder to take care of."

Gibbs grinned and nodded. "You make a good point; I'll agree with that."

They arrived at the school and got Theo out of the car. They each held one of his hands as they walked into the school. When they were brought to the classroom, they walked in and Theo looked around. One of the teachers came over and smiled down at Theo. "Hi Theo, I'm Miss Bella."

"Hi," Theo said in a small voice as he looked around timidly. They talked for a few minutes before she went back to tending to the kids with the other teacher, Miss Ruth. Gibbs and Tony walked around the classroom with Theo to let him see everything and get used to it. When a few of the kids tried to talk to him, he got really shy and upset, clinging to Tony's legs and hiding his face. He wasn't used to being around other kids. The only time he ever really had any contact with kids was at the library or the park and he almost always stuck to himself.

They stayed a few more minutes and then walked to the car. After they all got situated and Gibbs pulled out, Tony said "Can you please do the first few drop offs? If I take him and he cries, I'll either start crying or I'll lose my nerve and bring him back home."

Gibbs smirked and sighed, "Okay, Tony. I'll do the first few but you have to do it at some point."

Tony nodded, "Definitely. But maybe by then he'll be used to it."

Gibbs shrugged a shoulder and said "Or maybe he'll be perfectly fine the first day he goes. Or maybe he'll cry everyday for the next year. What then?" He glanced over at Tony who had a horrified look on his face.

"If he cries everyday for the next year, we'll take him out!"

Gibbs laughed. "You're so dramatic."

They got back home and Tony left for work. He had taken the morning off to go with them.

"Theo, let's go take Gunny for a walk."

Theo shook his head no and sat down with a puzzle.

"We won't do a long walk. We'll just go down the street and back."

With a series of impatient noises, Theo started to kick his feet against the coffee table. Gibbs gave him a stern look and said "The tantrums are getting really old, Theodore. Use your words."

"I don't want to go on a walk!" Theo said angrily.

"Why not, baby?" Gibbs asked patiently.

Theo looked thoughtful and lifted his arms to be picked up. Gibbs lifted him up and looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Papa, I want to do my puzzle and my legs are tired."

"Is that so? I have an idea. I'll carry you on this walk since your legs are tired and you can do your puzzle when we get back since it's going to be a short walk. Deal?" Theo thought it over before he nodded, "Okay."

The weekend passed in a flurry of activity with trips to the park, working on the boat together, and talking about the new babies. When they woke up on Monday morning, Tony looked at Gibbs pitifully and asked, "Does he have to go to school?" Gibbs rolled his eyes and smacked Tony on the butt. "Yes, he has to go. Be glad I'm not making you take him."

Gibbs got Theo dressed and asked Tony to get him his breakfast so he could get dressed too. When he came downstairs, Theo was on Tony's lap and Tony was resting his head against Theo's. Gibbs ran his hand over Tony's hair as he passed and said "You know this is probably harder for you than it will be for him. Yeah, it's possible he'll be upset at first; he's never been away from us before. But kids are pretty resilient, Tony. He'll get used to it. And if for some reason he just doesn't get used to it and he hates it and it's a huge problem, we'll re-evaluate and see what we should do about it."

Tony sighed and nodded. He stood up with Theo. "It's time for me to go to work, boo. Have fun on your first day of school. Are you excited?" He asked.

Theo nodded and laid his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony rubbed his back and said "Good. You'll love it there, baby." He put him down in the chair and gave Gibbs a kiss. "I love you guys. I'll see you tonight."

Gibbs and Theo both told him they loved him and he left. After Theo had finished his breakfast of wheat toast and fruit, Gibbs wiped his face and hands down. "Can you go grab your jacket, please? It's kind of cool this morning since it's still early." While Theo went for his jacket, Gibbs put some food in Gunny's food bowl and petted the puppy momentarily.

"Ready to go?" Gibbs asked as he helped Theo put his jacket on. Theo nodded and Gibbs picked up his little backpack. On their way to the school, Gibbs glanced back at a red light to see what Theo was doing. He was being unnaturally quiet, even by his usual standard. Theo was staring out the window and he looked tired. It wasn't any earlier than he usually woke up and was already busy; Gibbs figured he was just feeling nervous.

They arrived at the school and Gibbs parked the car. He got Theo out and held his hand, "Come on, Theo."

"Papa…" Theo said quietly and stopped. Gibbs looked down. "Papa, carry…"

Gibbs picked him up and walked in the building. As he made his way to the classroom, Theo grabbed a handful of his shirt and held on tightly.

"Good morning, Theo. How are you today?" Miss Bella greeted them. Theo glanced at her before hiding his face in Gibbs' neck. Gibbs rubbed his back and said in a low voice, "Can you say hi to Miss Bella? You remember how nice Miss Bella was on Friday. You don't have to be scared, son."

Theo glanced up and said "Hi," before quickly hiding his face again. Gibbs smiled and crouched down to put Theo down. He stayed down on his level and ran a hand over his head. "Remember what we talked about? You'll have so much fun and if you need anything Miss Bella and Miss Ruth are here to help you. You'll make lots of new friends, huh, bud? And I'll be back to pick you up in just a little while. It'll be so fast you won't even know I'm gone because you'll be having so much fun with your new friends." He smiled at Theo and kissed his forehead.

Theo wrapped his arms around Gibbs' neck and held on. Gibbs could feel his little body trembling and he felt as if his heart broke just a bit. He wrapped his arms around him and hugged him close before kissing him and pulling his hands off of his neck. "Okay, Papa has to go now. You'll have _so much_ fun, baby; I'm jealous. I love you, Theo."

He stood up to go and Theo's lip pouted and he started to rub his eyes. Popping his fingers into his mouth, he began to cry softly as he watched his Papa go. Gibbs said goodbye to the teacher who assured him that Theo would be okay and walked out the door. He waited a few minutes before he peeked through the glass of the door. Miss Bella was holding Theo's hand and Theo was still sucking on his fingers, his face wet with tears and a zoned-out look on his face.

Gibbs moved away from the door again incase Theo looked up and saw him there. He hesitated briefly before leaving. He had a strong urge to charge back in there and bring him back home with him. Before he could do that, he made himself walk out of the building and get in the car to leave.

The drive back home was quiet and when Gibbs walked in the house he found that he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He put Gunny on the leash and went for a long run. When he got back home, he worked on the boat for about an hour before he went upstairs for a shower.

He looked at the clock; there was still about two hours until he had to go get Theo. Gibbs idly picked up stuff around the living room and straightened up the kitchen. He felt like he was going a little stir-crazy without his boy there to keep him busy and to have fun with. He knew he should enjoy the break and he figured he would probably get there eventually but the first few days might be difficult. Gibbs wasn't used to having idle time on his hands; he, like Theo, was a very busy person. But when the twins were born, he wouldn't have any time on his hands.

It was finally time to go pick him up and he headed to the school. He walked into the classroom and Theo looked up and saw him, running over, and Gibbs scooped him up. Theo laid his head on his shoulder and held onto him tightly.

"Hey, did you have a good first day?" He asked as he rubbed his back. Theo pulled back and grinned, saying "Hi Papa."

Gibbs smiled, "Hi baby. How was it?"

Miss Bella walked over and smiled. "Mr. Gibbs, you and Mr. DiNozzo have one fun little boy there. He has had me and Ruth holding back hysterical laughter all morning."

Gibbs grinned and chuckled, "I can only imagine…"

Miss Bella smiled, "He talks really, really well for his age. He was hesitant to talk at first but once he opened up, he had us rolling."

Gibbs nodded, "He keeps us on our toes."

"He had a great first day, Mr. Gibbs. There were a few times that he refused to participate but once we explained and talked about it, he was really pretty willing."

"Oh that's good. He can be really stubborn but he's pretty good about doing something if you talk it over with him." Gibbs looked at Theo and smiled, "Good first day, huh, Theo?" He ruffled his hair, "Daddy will be so glad to hear that." They said goodbye to the teachers and walked out.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes, but let's stay home now," Theo said.

Gibbs got him in the car and pulled out. "We're going home now. But you go again tomorrow and the next day, remember? You get to have fun at school three days a week."

"No, thank you. I just like this one day."

Gibbs didn't say anything to that and when they got home he put Theo down for his nap. After Theo's nap they made a trip to the library and the grocery store. Gibbs made spaghetti for dinner and they ate together at the table.

"Pretty soon after the babies are born, you'll be turning three. You're getting so old, Theodore. Before you know it, you'll be driving a car and copping an attitude. Oh wait, you already do that part."

Theo giggled at the absurdity of his Papa.

"What do you think you'll want for your birthday?" Gibbs asked conversationally. "What kind of presents?"

Theo looked thoughtful as he took a bite of bread. He finished his bite and drank a sip of milk before he answered. "A new daddy."

Gibbs' eyes widened momentarily. "Why do you want a new daddy, baby?"

"A new daddy I can see. A day time daddy. He won't be gone always." Gibbs leaned over and lifted Theo's chin gently and said, "I know Daddy is gone a lot during the day but he loves you so much and he wishes he could be here more. But you get to see him at night and he gives you your bath and reads your bedtime story. That's pretty special. And you get to play on the weekends."

Theo smiled, "I love my Daddy stories. With silly voices."

Gibbs laughed, "Daddy does do silly voices, doesn't he? His stories are very fun." He ran his fingers down Theo's cheek. "See, you wouldn't want a new daddy. A new daddy wouldn't do silly voices or fly you like an airplane around the house or rub your back when you're sad."

"I love Daddy."

"Good. He loves you too, so much."

"Be home soon?"

Gibbs glanced at the clock; it was 18:30. "I'm not sure, buddy. Want to try calling him?"

"Okay," Theo said excitedly.

Gibbs called Tony and put him on speaker phone, setting the phone on the table between him and Theo.

"DiNozzo"

"Hi 'Nozzo" Theo said

Tony laughed, "Hi baby boy, what are you doing?"

"Eating basketti."

"Mmm, I love basketti. Did you save me some?"

"Papa ate it all. He had a hungry tummy."

Gibbs laughed and said "I did have a hungry tummy but I didn't it _all_, goofy."

Theo leaned in close to the phone and said in a quiet voice, "He ate _all_ the basketti."

Tony laughed and asked how Theo's first day of school was. Theo said "Good, but I only just go this day."

"I see. Just today, huh?"

Gibbs interrupted this line of conversation and asked Tony if he would be home soon.

"Uh, I should be home in time to do bath and bed. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's good. Theodore was just wondering when you would be home." They all talked a few more minutes before they hung up. Theo chased Gunny around the house while Gibbs cleaned up the kitchen.

When Tony got home, Theo ran at him full speed. Tony picked up and tossed him in the air, making him giggle loudly. Gibbs watched them with a smile on his face. Nothing made him happier than seeing the two of them together. Theo's comment about a new daddy had thrown him completely off guard and saddened him. He knew just how much Tony hated that he was gone so much.

"I hope Papa saved me something to eat. I'm starvin' like Lee Marvin, Little Bean," Tony said as he touched noses with Theo. Gibbs' emotions must have been showing on his face thinking about what Theo had said earlier because when Tony looked up his face fell a little, "What's wrong?"

Gibbs shook his head and quirked his lips into a smile, "Just watching you two." Tony got a doubtful look on his face but turned his attention back to Theo.

"If you want to eat first, I'll get him in the bath. It's getting late," Gibbs said.

Tony shook his head, "I'll get him." Gibbs gave Theo a goodnight kiss and told him he loved him. Tony would get him in the bath, read him his story, and put him to bed. While they were doing that, Gibbs went downstairs to work on the boat.

Tony joined him downstairs after a while. He stood beside the boat, running his hand over it.

"He's in his big boy bed."

Gibbs looked up in surprise, "You put him in his big boy bed?" They had recently put a bed in his room but kept him in his crib. One of them would occasionally lay on it with him to let him get used to it but they hadn't taken the big step yet.

"He asked to go in it. He wanted to."

"Well, that's good, I guess. Did he stay in it when you walked out?"

Tony nodded, "Yes, but I'm sure he's out of it by now."

Gibbs snorted and continued to work on the boat. "I wasn't looking forward to this. He's going to be out of that bed all damn night."

"Yes, but it has to happen sometime. We'll need that crib soon. And it was only a matter of time before Theo started climbing out of the crib at night." He had already learned to climb out of it but for some reason unknown to them had yet to do it at night. But Tony was right; it was only a matter of time, if they kept him in it any longer.

"He did fine when I dropped him off this morning. He did cry a little but apparently he was over it pretty quickly. You can drop him off tomorrow," Gibbs told Tony as he blew away some sawdust. "And I'm not trying to hurt you when I tell you this but I thought you should know, when I asked Theodore what he wanted for his birthday he said he wanted a new daddy. He said he wanted a daddy that he can see and who won't be gone always."

Tony's face fell. He looked down and rubbed his fingers against the boat. Gibbs had debated whether he should tell him that or not. He knew how sensitive Tony could be when it came to their son. In the end, he decided he should know what their almost three-year-old had said.

When Tony continued to be silent and rub his fingers against the boat, Gibbs put his tool away and went up behind him, wrapping his arms around Tony's waist and resting his cheek against the side of Tony's head.

"He loves you so much, Tony. Never doubt that."

Tony looked back and pressed a kiss to the side of Gibbs' mouth before he turned in his arms. With a hand on the back of Gibbs' head, Tony pressed up close and kissed him insistently, almost needy.

A few minutes later, Gibbs pulled away breathlessly, "I would suggest making sure our son isn't destroying the house. Or having a wild party," he added as an afterthought.

They made their way upstairs and, as predicted, Theo was out of his bed. And out of his room. Gibbs walked into his and Tony's bedroom to find a little boy and a puppy in his bed. "_Oh no you don't. _Both of you, off the bed."

"Papa's bed!"

"No, Theo's bed. Come on."

"And Gunny?"

Gibbs gave him a look and they walked back to his bedroom. Theo climbed up into his new bed and Gibbs pulled the covers over him. He bent down to kiss Theo and patted him gently. "I love you. Stay in your bed, please, and go to sleep."

"I like Daddy's bed."

"It's not a choice, Theodore. You sleep in your bed."

"Okay," Theo said sullenly with a very pouty face.

Gibbs turned off the light and shut the door as he walked out. He walked back into his own bedroom to find Gunny. Tony was in there, sitting on the floor petting the puppy.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you what he said. You're not going to obsess about it are you? Theo and I talked about it. I promise you have no reason to worry about his love for you or anything."

Tony smiled up at him. "I know. I'm just tired."

As soon as they were in bed, they heard little feet padding up to the bed. Gibbs got up. "Back to bed, Theo."

This happened twice more in the next thirty minutes. The fourth time he came into their room, Tony took him back to his bed. Gibbs could hear the murmurs of Theo talking in the other room. When Tony came back into the room, they could hear Theo kicking his foot against the wall and yelling "Papa. I not tired. Papa, it is time to be awake!"

Gibbs ignored this and linked his fingers with Tony's. Tony lay against him and sighed tiredly. Forty-five minutes later, Theo was finally asleep. Gibbs relaxed in the bed and drifted off.

He woke to a little foot jabbing into his side. Groggily, he looked over to find Theo asleep between him and Tony. He momentarily wondered when he had put him in their bed when he remembered Theo's new bed. Sighing, he got up and carried Theo back to his room.

The next time he woke up, it was to find a little boy climbing into the bed. "What are you doing, baby?" Gibbs asked in a slightly hoarse voice from sleep. Theo froze mid-climb and looked guiltily at Gibbs. Then he continued to climb up and snuggle into Gibbs. Too tired to do anything about it, Gibbs pulled Theo close and drifted back off to sleep.

That day, Tony took Theo to school and Gibbs picked him up. Tony had called that morning to say that Theo had cried hysterically and that when he'd looked back in he was still screaming. When Gibbs picked him up, the teacher said it had been a bit of a rough day but that she was confident tomorrow would be better. Gibbs tried, unsuccessfully to talk about it with Theo who was extremely crabby. Then there was no nap because he refused to stay in his new bed.

Tony got home at 17:00 which was completely unheard of. He was able to eat dinner with them and played with Theo the rest of the evening. Bedtime proved to be impossible again. Tony and Gibbs both read him his bedtime story and tucked him in. By 21:00, Theo had been out of his bed five times. By 22:00, he had been out of his bed four more times and four tantrums had been thrown. Gibbs and Tony were both completely frazzled and exhausted by this point.

When Gunny came running into the room after Gibbs had almost managed to lull Theo to sleep and completely woke him back up, Gibbs yelled "Get out of here, Gunny!" in frustration. Tony came barging into the room and said "You need to calm down. Go." Gibbs made a face that suggested "What the _hell?" _and walked out of the room without another word.

Tony succeeded in making things worse. Theo was crying incessantly and after ten minutes of this, Gibbs walked back in and said, "Until you can do this without making it completely worse than what it was, don't ever tell me to get out again."

Gibbs sat beside Theo's bed and rubbed his back with an occasional "Shh" if Theo tried to speak or started to cry again. Twenty minutes later, Gibbs left the room and went back to his and Tony's bedroom. Tony wasn't in the bed.

Sighing, he went downstairs. Tony was lying on the couch, head on a pillow and blanket over him. Gibbs walked back upstairs and crawled into bed tiredly. He hoped this problem with the new bed would become easier as time went on. If this was how it went every night, Gibbs almost feared what it would do to his and Tony's relationship. He couldn't remember Tony ever going to sleep on the couch.

As he drifted off, he wondered why his son had to make everything so damn difficult. With a grin Gibbs thought, Theo must have gotten such stubbornness from the surrogate, Anna. There was no way he got it from him, he thought as he chuckled to himself. _Yeah right._

**Did you like? Reviews make me very happy (hint, hint) ;). Next chapter the twins will be born! Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I really hope you enjoy and I really hope you'll review ;) Thanks for reading! Next chapter will posted in the next couple of days.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS**

Gibbs glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It was 6:30 in the morning and he, Tony, and Theo were at the table eating some breakfast. Or rather he and Tony were forcing some breakfast down.

There was a c-section scheduled at 10:00 am to deliver the twins. They were nervous wrecks. It had been a hectic few weeks trying to prepare for the babies to come. Over the last few months they had been cleaning out the guest room that would become the twins' room and in the last few weeks had been frantically putting the last touches to the room. All of that had been done while also trying to spend as much time with Theo as possible before the babies arrived.

Tony looked a little green and Gibbs' stomach was churning. Theo was blissfully unaware of just how crazy their lives were about to become. He was leaning over in his chair talking to the dog.

"Are you all done, Theo?" Gibbs asked. "You still have some blueberries left." Theo straightened up and put his face to his plate, picking the berries up with his mouth. Gibbs shook his head in amusement and got up to clear his plate from the table.

After breakfast, they all took Gunny for a walk together. When they got back, Gibbs made Theo lay down with him. He doubted Theo would get a real nap today so he wanted him to get some down time while he could. They were avoiding a cranky Theo today. It wasn't much of a rest. Theo bounced and rolled around the bed and they talked almost continuously. Gibbs didn't mind; he was enjoying these last few minutes with _just_ Theo.

Time seemed to drag along and fly by all at once. It was suddenly time to get going. Theo was wired and chasing Gunny around the bedroom while he laughed and yelled "Come here, you puppy!"

Gibbs caught him around the waist and scooped him. Theo tried to keep running, mid-air. Giggling, he threw himself back against Gibbs and tried to twist in his arms. Gibbs cradled him in his arms like a baby and grinned down at him. "You're a wiggle worm, son. Can you be still for two minutes?"

"Okay."

"Thanks. Do you want to go potty before we go see the babies?"

"No, thank you," Theo said.

Gibbs sighed and put him down. They had managed, with much desperate bribing, to get Theo to sit on the potty once. All he did was sit there for a minute before getting down and then he proceeded to pee in his diaper as soon as it was back on. Gibbs and Tony were pretty sure Theo would be going to college in diapers at this rate.

They were soon out the door and at the hospital waiting for the c-section to be over. Ducky, McGee, Abby, Ziva, and Palmer all joined them there in waiting. Theo was kept entertained and Gibbs nervously paced in front of Tony. Tony grinned and grabbed his hand, "So you're the nervous pacer this time," he said, remembering the day Theo was born and how he had paced the floor until Gibbs had made him sit down with him. Gibbs smiled back at him, though it probably looked more like a grimace, and sat down. Tony put his arm around Gibbs' shoulders and pulled him over to place a kiss on the side of his head.

The nurse came out some time later to let them know they could come see their babies. They walked into a room with Theo to meet the newest members of their family.

Gibbs held Theo up so he could see his new baby sister and baby brother. Caroline Elizabeth weighed in at five pounds, three ounces and was eighteen inches. Oliver Thomas was five pounds, five ounces and eighteen and a half inches. Both had dark brown hair and were little clones of Tony.

Theo quickly lost interest and wanted down. Gibbs picked Caroline up and held her to his chest. She was sleeping peacefully in his arms. Gibbs watched as Tony picked Oliver up.

"I think my heart _hurts_ I'm so in love," Tony whispered.

"I'm right there with you," Gibbs said back.

They spent a few more minutes just holding their babies and asking Theo if he wanted to hold one. He didn't.

They talked to the doctor for a while and then they had their friends come in to meet the babies. As they walked in, an "Aww" passed through the group. While Ducky held Oliver, Tony picked Theo up and held him.

"What a dashing young man," Ducky said as he looked down at the baby boy. When Abby could hardly contain her excitement any longer, Gibbs handed Caroline to her. Ducky held Oliver a few more minutes before passing him to McGee, who immediately tensed up and looked completely awkward.

"Uh…" he looked around helplessly before passing the bundle to Ziva. Their friends stayed for a while longer and Gibbs and Tony enjoyed having them there but they were also glad when they were able to bond with their babies again.

"Can we go home now?" Theo asked sullenly from a chair by the window.

"Would you like to go get a snack with Daddy?" Gibbs asked him.

"I would like to go home," Theo said in an almost mocking tone. Gibbs went over and picked him up, holding him close. He and Tony were making sure to give him a lot of attention while also getting to know their babies. Theo wanted nothing to do with the babies and they didn't push the issue.

Gibbs swayed back and forth gently with Theo and looked over at Tony. He was giving Caroline a bottle and watching her with a look of awe and love on his face.

"Daddy," Theo said from Gibbs' arms.

"Yes, Little Bean?"

"Put that baby down!"

Tony glanced at Gibbs. Gibbs looked at Theo and said softly, "Hey, let Daddy finish giving Caroline her bottle and then he'll come get you. Okay?"

"I want Daddy _now_."

"Then I think a better idea would be to ask nicely if Daddy can please hold you and then maybe I would go get Caroline from him. But telling him to 'put that baby down' isn't a very nice way of saying it."

Theo got a thoughtful look on his face and then pursed his lips. Gibbs was sure there was about to be a battle of wills but was surprised when Theo actually asked, "Can Daddy hold me, please?"

"Of course I can hold you," Tony answered.

Gibbs smiled at Theo and kissed the side of his head. "That was very nice of you. Let me go get Caroline so Daddy can hold you," he said as he put his son down.

He took Caroline from Tony to finish giving her the bottle. Theo stood in Tony's lap and laid his head on his shoulder. Gibbs looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was lazily sucking on the bottle and trying to keep her eyes open for a moment.

The babies were proving to be very calm and laidback so far. Of course, they were only several hours old so that could change very quickly. Gibbs hoped they stayed calm and laidback; Theo was proving to be such a difficult child.

They stayed at the hospital as late as they could but eventually had to head home to feed Theo and put him to bed. Leaving the babies wasn't something they were thrilled about but if all went well they could bring them home in the morning.

After a somewhat restful night, they headed back to the hospital and brought the two infant car seats in with them. Theo still wanted nothing to do with the babies and while Tony and Gibbs each dressed a twin, he played with the stuffed doll that Abby had gotten him for his second birthday that he carried around a lot.

Once they were able to sign them out, they headed for the car. Tony carried Caroline's car seat while Gibbs carried Oliver's and held Theo's hand. Theo dragged his feet and whined, wanting to be picked up. When he jerked his hand out of Gibbs' and threw himself on the floor in a tantrum, Gibbs gave him a stern look and said in a low voice, "You have until the count of three to get off the floor and give me your hand again. One… two…" Theo scrambled up but continued to wail loudly as he grabbed Gibbs' hand.

When they finally made it to the car, they stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to figure out where to start.

"Hmm. Here, you take Oliver and I'll get Theo in and then I'll come around and help you get them in," Gibbs said as he handed the car seat over. Gibbs strapped a scowling Theo into his car seat before going to the other side of the car and taking Oliver's car seat and settling it into the car seat base in the middle spot. Tony got Caroline's seat in her base and they got in to head home.

Getting everybody out of the car was possibly even more awkward than getting them in had been. Gibbs made the mistake of unbuckling Theo first and he was trying to hold onto him as he helped Tony get the twins out. They stood there for a moment and Tony asked "Want me to get both of them?"

"I've got Bean and Oliver."

"Are you sure?"

"I've got them. Come on."

Tony didn't have his keys with him and reached into Gibbs' pocket to get his out since Gibbs had a car seat in one hand and a kid on the other arm. Tony grinned, "I have a feeling this is the most action we're going to see for a long time." After he pulled the keys out of Gibbs' pocket, he asked "Was it good for you?"

Gibbs laughed and told him to open the door already. Gibbs put the car seat on the floor and put Theo down. Theo ran to the back door. "Gunny!" he yelled.

"Not right now, bud. We'll go outside to see him soon," Gibbs said.

"Daddy?"

"L.B.?"

"Can we go see Gunny?"

Tony gave him a disapproving look and said "Papa just said not right now." Theo glared at him and said "We bring these babies home and then I don't even be able to see my puppy!" He sighed dramatically and said "I will go to my room."

Gibbs shook his head and rolled his eyes as Theo started climbing the stairs. A little whimpering cry came from one of the car seats on the floor. It was Caroline. Tony crouched down at the car seat and pushed the handle back. "Sweet baby," he cooed at the little girl as he got her out. "Prettiest baby in the whole world," he said in a low voice, talking quietly to their daughter. Gibbs smiled at the sight.

Things were relatively calm for quite a while. Oliver and Caroline were still proving to be fairly easy going babies. Gibbs and Tony took turns playing with Theo to make sure he got all the attention he needed and wanted.

When Tony and Gibbs each had to give a baby a bottle at the same time, all hell broke loose. They managed to get through the bottles before Theo had had enough and threw a tantrum because he wanted milk and they weren't able to get it for him. When he started crying loudly, he startled the babies who began to cry as well. All three of them were screaming, Gibbs and Tony were trying to soothe the twins, and Theo was on the floor arching his back and rolling around.

After several minutes of this and not being able to calm anybody down, Gibbs threw his head back and wailed before putting his head down with his hand to his face and fake-sobbing loudly. Theo stopped crying and Gibbs peeked at him. He looked surprised and then giggled. Tony looked freaked out and amused all at once.

"Why is my crying funny?" Gibbs continued to sob into his hand. He added a few sniffles in for good measure. Theo giggled louder and stood up. He came over and tried to peek at Gibbs' face. Gibbs stopped abruptly and sat up straight. "No sympathy. I get no sympathy." Theo laughed and said "You are funny, Papa."

"Thank you. If you would be patient for a minute you know that Daddy or I will get your milk when we can. Am I right?"

Theo looked at him blankly before sighing, "Yes, Papa."

"Good man," he said as he held his hand out for a high five. Gibbs put Caroline on the couch beside Tony and got up to get Theo's drink. When he came back in, he stopped short and watched the scene before him.

Tony had Oliver lying on his lap so that the baby's head was near his knees and Theo was standing beside Tony. Tony was smiling at Theo and Theo was smiling down at the baby. He reached his hand forward and dropped it down onto the baby who was a little startled but otherwise continued to sleep. "Gentle, baby, gentle," Tony advised in a quiet, patient voice.

"He is very little tiny," Theo said as ran his hand over the swaddled newborn.

"He is very little tiny right now which is why we have to love him and help him. He can't do things like you can. He's not a big boy yet. He needs you to take care of him. So does Caroline. And as they get older, you can help teach them things because you already know how to do stuff and they don't."

Theo grinned and his eyes lit up. He looked over and saw Gibbs standing there. He said "Milk, please?" Gibbs smiled and brought it over to the table. Theo took a sip and came back over to the babies. He leaned against the couch and put his face near Oliver's. "He's _so cute_," Theo crooned.

Gibbs picked Caroline back up and sat beside Tony. Tony looked over at him and smiled and Gibbs couldn't resist a quick kiss.

"Hey!" Theo exclaimed from the table where he was getting more milk. "That's my kiss."

"You can't share?"

Theo shook his head no and ran over to the back door. "Gunny now?"

Gibbs sighed and looked over at Tony. "You ready?" Tony nodded and Gibbs put Caroline in his arm and picked Oliver up off of his lap to put him in his other arm. He went to the door and opened it and Gunny came charging in full of energy and running all over the place. Theo squealed and ran after him. Gibbs grabbed Gunny up and held the wiggling puppy against his chest. "Okay, marine, at ease."

Gunny licked his face and wiggled around to get down. Gibbs walked over to the couch with him and sat down on it, keeping a tight hold on him. Gunny strained to get out of his hold and sniffed his nose toward the babies. Gibbs put him a little closer and Gunny touched his nose to Caroline's head, sniffing all over the top of it. Theo thought this was hilarious and was hysterically laughing on the floor. Gunny whimpered, wanting to be let go, and Gibbs said "Easy, Gunny," and stroked his hand down the puppy's back.

When the puppy finally calmed down, Gibbs let him go. He climbed into Tony's lap but remained calm and only sniffed the babies some more before lying down and curling up.

The rest of the day was a hectic afternoon of bottles, diaper changes, chasing a little boy around the house, and keeping him happy. By dinner time, Gibbs and Tony were ready to pass out.

"Theo, how about you go watch a show?" Gibbs suggested tiredly after they had cleaned up the table.

"Why no bath time?" Theo asked in confusion. Their nightly routine was dinner, bath, story, and bed. They had decided to skip bath time tonight though because they were so tired.

"No bath tonight, buddy. We'll do it tomorrow night."

Theo stood there looking as if his whole world had turned upside down. "But… it is bath time…" he said slowly.

"I know, baby, but Daddy and Papa are tired. You'll be okay without a bath, I promise," Gibbs told him.

"But, it's _bath time_. It means I need to have a bath and do my story."

"We'll still do your story, don't worry."

Theo continued to stare at him in confusion. Gibbs took a deep breath to calm his temper that wanted to come through at his exhaustion and said with a sigh, "Okay, Theo, we'll do bath time."

Tony glanced at him. "Jethro, I'd leave it for tonight. He'll be fine."

"If this is going to just completely throw him off I'm not going to mess with the routine. I'll give him a quick bath and be done with it. You good with the babies for a little while?" Tony nodded and Gibbs said "Okay, come get me if you need me," and took Theo upstairs for a bath.

Gibbs quickly washed Theo and let him play for a few minutes. "What story do you want tonight, Little Bean?"

Theo thought about it as he filled a cup up with the bath water and brought it over to the edge. Gibbs gently pushed his hand back over and said quietly, "In the tub, please."

"Goodnight Moon," Theo said as he dumped the water out. Gibbs got him out and into his pajamas and took him to his room. "What about Daddy?" he asked.

"He'll read to you tomorrow night," Gibbs said as he directed him over to his bed. Theo got in and lay down. Gibbs read the story in a quiet, lulling tone and when he was done Theo's eyes were tired and half open. "Sing sunshine, Papa?"

Gibbs whispered "Okay, Theo," and began to sing "You are my sunshine" to him in a low voice. Theo rolled onto his side and put his little hand on his cheek as he drifted off. Gibbs watched his little boy sleeping and had to swallow down a sudden rush of emotion. Blowing out a deep breath and blinking away the tears that pricked at his eyes, he got up and left the room, turning out the light and shutting the door. Having the babies home now only brought to his attention even more how big Theo was getting. It was a bittersweet moment every time Gibbs realized it.

As easily as he had gotten Theo to sleep, that night turned out to be completely awful. They put the twins in one of the cribs together and the crib was in their room for now. They would only have it in there for the first few weeks unlike Theo who was in their room for the first nine or so months. At least, that's how they _planned_ to do it this time around.

They each lay down and were instantly asleep when Oliver woke up screaming. Tony immediately jumped out of bed and went to him in the hopes of Caroline staying asleep. There was no chance of that and Gibbs got up to get Caroline. Tony sat on the bed holding Oliver and rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Here we go," he said in a slightly slurred voice. They got the twins back to sleep after about twenty minutes and they went back to bed.

An hour later, they were back up. Gibbs went to make bottles and brought them up. They each fed a twin and got them back to sleep. Forty-five minutes after they had gotten back to sleep, Theo crawled into their bed and snuggled into Gibbs. Gibbs sighed and tried to get comfortable with Tony pressed against his back and trapping his legs down with one of his and Theo's knee sticking into his stomach with his cold little hands against his chest. He managed to fall asleep and the next time he woke it was to a little hand on his face, a cold foot digging into his side, and Tony's face pressed against the back of his neck.

"Tony," he whispered. There was no response. "Tony…" he whispered louder. Tony mumbled and pressed his nose into Gibbs' neck. Gibbs growled softly and reached back and smacked Tony wherever his hand landed. Tony jerked awake and said "On it, Boss!" before rolling and falling off the bed. He stood up in confusion, half asleep, and said "What?"

"Move over and go to sleep." Tony grunted and lay down away from Gibbs, falling back to sleep immediately. They managed another hour before the twins were up again. They woke Theo up who started crying too. Gibbs took Theo back to his own bed where he continued to cry loudly, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Shh, baby, go back to sleep. You're just tired," Gibbs whispered as he wiped the tears away. Theo fell asleep a few minutes later with Gibbs running his fingers through his hair.

Going back to his bedroom, he found Tony lying on the bed with one baby on his chest and the other beside him. Gibbs sighed loudly and felt completely overwhelmed. He didn't think he could do the co-sleeping thing again, not with twins. Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. He had an overwhelming urge to cry. What was wrong with him tonight? _You're exhausted and you're human_, he thought before lying on the bed and putting the twin that was lying on the bed, Oliver, on his chest.

He decided to let Tony keep Caroline with him. He'd never been very comfortable with Theo sleeping between them but in the end it had happened a few times when he was older and Tony had been completely still in his sleep and truly did seem to be more aware. So Gibbs had loosened up a little.

They were up for good at 4:00 in the morning with Theo and the babies. They got the babies fed and changed. Theo was a holy terror. By 5:30 he had managed to pull all of the books off the bottom two shelves of the bookshelf, spill an entire glass of milk across the coffee table that had some of Tony's papers from work on it, throw two tantrums, and land himself in time-out for yelling at Gibbs after being asked to _please_ use _nice_ words.

By 6:00 he was in front of the TV with breakfast while Gibbs and Tony tended to Oliver and Caroline in the kitchen.

"I still don't like this age," Tony said as he awkwardly burped Oliver. "I like when they can pick their heads up and move and interact."

Gibbs nodded. "Well, that may be so, but enjoy every minute of this because they're our last ones. It'll go by in the blink of eye. Before we know it they'll be in college and then off getting married and having kids and we'll be _grandparents_." He laughed at Tony's expression. "Yeah, enjoy it right now. Grandpa."

"Why am I Grandpa? Grandpa sounds so old."

"Well, I'm already Papa; I might as well stick with it. That leaves you with Grandpa."

"Maybe they'll just call me Tony."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Our grandkids are not going to call you Tony."

"I love how we've gone from talking about our newborn children to arguing about our grandchildren," Tony said with a snort. Gibbs smirked at him and burped Caroline with the ease of a pro.

"Do you have to be perfect at _everything_?"

Gibbs looked startled and said "I'm not…"

Tony looked down at Oliver. "Papa can be so frustrating sometimes, little man. You have to love him, but sometimes you just want to s-m-a-c-k him." Gibbs laughed and said "Let's go join our boy in the living room. Maybe he's chilled out some."

The rest of the day was much like the morning. The babies were fed, changed, and loved. Theo was all over the place and constantly trying to get into trouble. Trying and succeeding. Gibbs was on the floor with Oliver and Theo when Theo exclaimed, "That baby is stinky!"

Gibbs closed his eyes and shook his head with a grin. "Yeah, I'm guessing he needs a diaper change. You should go tell Daddy."

Theo jumped up and went upstairs. When he came back downstairs, he said "Hey, Papa… Papa, Dad said butt," with a giggle. Gibbs was taking Oliver out of his clothes and only hummed at what Theo said. "Papa, Dad said _butt_." More giggling ensued. Gibbs looked up and grinned. "Is that so? Your Dad is a funny man, Theodore."

"Yes, because he said butt."

"Uh-huh," Gibbs said.

Tony came down the stairs. "You couldn't change the diaper?"

"I could, but I wanted you to. And hey, thanks for teaching Theo such a fun word, I appreciate it. Now I can hear it all day long."

"What'd I say?" he said in confusion.

"You said butt," Theo told him without hesitation.

"Well, look on the bright side; at least I didn't say a-…"

"Okay! Point taken," Gibbs broke in. Tony got down on the floor with him to change Oliver's diaper. Tony had already put two diaper changes off on Gibbs today, so he was just getting him back.

Everything was going well until Theo got upset about something and lashed out at Oliver. He reached over and smacked the baby on the arm. It wasn't enough to hurt him but it did startle him awake which made him scream loudly. Gibbs looked over at Theo and stared him down for a couple of seconds. Theo knew he was in trouble. His head was down and he would hardly make eye contact. His bottom lip was starting to pout and quiver. Gibbs pointed over at one of Theo's little chairs. "Have a seat and do not move," he said in a low, serious voice. Theo immediately did as he was told and started rubbing his eyes when he sat down.

Tony was comforting Oliver and he had already stopped crying and was back asleep. Gibbs checked on him before going to Theo and crouching down in front of him. "Don't you ever, _ever_ let me see you hitting anybody again. Do you hear me?" Theo burst into tears and started rubbing his eyes again. He had been in trouble before, but Gibbs wasn't sure he'd ever gotten such a stern and serious warning. He pulled Theo's hands from his eyes and said "Look at me, Theodore. Do you understand me? You don't hit, it's not nice." Theo sniffled and started crying hard again. "Not nice," Gibbs added one more time with sign language. Theo rubbed his eyes and signed "Sorry."

"You can sit there until I tell you to get up. And then what do you think you should do?"

Theo's lip quivered. "Tell Oliver sorry," he said in a broken voice.

"I think that's probably a really good idea. You stay there right now." Gibbs got up and left him. Theo put his hands to his face and began to wail again.

Gibbs and Tony made sure to never do any kind of playful hitting or smacking or anything of the sort where Theo could see. They didn't even talk about anything like that in front of him. Theo had never hit anyone before and the only place Gibbs figures he could have learned it was from school. It was not a habit they wanted Theo picking up. That's why Gibbs took it very seriously this time and made sure Theo knew how wrong he was. He wanted to put a stop to this very quickly.

He let him sit there a couple of more minutes before he told him to get up. Theo got up and walked over slowly with his head down. Tony crouched down with Oliver.

"I am sorry, Oliver," Theo said in a miserable voice. He stood there a moment before he leaned down and kissed the baby on the arm where he had hit him and then on the head. "I am sorry, baby," he whispered again. He straightened up and ran over to Gibbs, wrapping his arms around Gibbs' legs. "I am sorry, Papa."

Gibbs ran his hand over Theo's head. "Thank you, Theo."

After that, Gibbs and Tony found Theo was much more loving with the twins. He liked to kiss their heads and gently run his hand over their stomachs. He even held one of them for the first time.

Gibbs watched as Theo whispered quietly to Caroline and showed her his toy. He smiled. It didn't get much better than this.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Gibbs was in the process of changing a diaper when the phone rang. "Theo, can you get my phone, please?"

Theo got his phone and opened it. "Hello? Oh hi Daddy. Papa's changing Caroline's diaper. I'm being good." Theo listened for a minute. "I am really being good. I didn't get in trouble any today." Gibbs snorted. Theo looked over at him.

"I think that's an understatement, Theo. Does Daddy need something or was he just calling?"

Theo asked Tony and then listened. "You're not coming home?" He said in an upset screech. Gibbs heard Tony quickly saying something and Theo said "Why aren't you coming home, Daddy?" almost in tears. Tony was talking quickly again and louder.

"Can I have the phone please?" Gibbs asked as he put Caroline on the floor with a toy.

"Tony, what's up?"

"He has selective hearing, Jethro. What I said was I wasn't coming home until later tonight. I'm trying to wrap up this case and there's a ton of paper work to get done. Are you going to be okay getting everyone to bed alone?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," he said, not unkindly. "I'm good."

"Okay, thanks. Save me a spot in the bed tonight," Tony said.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. The twins were now six months old and Theo was three. It seemed most every night they had anywhere from one to three kids in their bed. They weren't exactly thrilled with the sleeping arrangements but they got the world's worst sleepers and putting them in their bed ended up being the easiest thing. And Theo crawled into their bed so often they got tired of taking him back to his own.

"Sure, there will be a spot," Gibbs told him before they hung up.

He looked down at his kids playing on the floor. Oliver and Caroline were now sitting on their own though not always very steadily. Oliver had short dark brown hair that liked to stick up all over, blue-green eyes, and the sweetest face around. Caroline also had dark brown hair, brilliant green eyes, and a smile that couldn't be resisted. They both babbled nonstop all day long. There seemed to be a continuous stream of babbles, coos, and jabbers coming from their mouths. Theo never did babble much and was still fairly quiet for a small child.

Theo was sitting near Oliver and would occasionally tumble forward and say "Oh!" in mock-pain. Oliver was laughing so hard he'd stop making any noise and then he would topple over onto his side and continue to laugh hysterically. Theo was laughing because Oliver was laughing so hard.

Caroline looked up at Gibbs and spouted gibberish up at him while pointing her finger around then held her arms up.

"A bit demanding, aren't we?" Gibbs said as he reached down to get her. She babbled at him some more and bounced in his arms. He went into the kitchen with her to get a cup of milk for Theo. When he opened the fridge he realized there was none. He bit back a curse. He went over to the cabinet and took down the formula to start making some bottles for Oliver and Caroline when he realized that too was almost empty. Then he did curse.

Theo walked in and announced "Oliver bonked his head, Papa." Gibbs didn't hear any crying. "He bonked his head, huh? Is he okay?"

"Yes, he didn't cry."

"He must have a hard head like Daddy."

Theo giggled then got a serious look on his face. "What is wrong, Papa?"

Gibbs sighed. "We don't have any milk, formula, a lot of things that we need from the store." He looked down at Theo and asked, "If we go to the grocery store, can I count on you to behave? No tantrums or anything?"

"I'll be good," Theo promised. Gibbs had a feeling of dread consume him. Since the babies had been born, he'd managed to always do grocery shopping on the weekends with Tony or to send Tony out to get what they needed. Either that or he had occasionally run out with just the twins when Theo was at school. He had yet to take all three by himself.

He nodded once. "Okay, good. Can you go get the diaper bag and the babies' binkies, please?" While Theo set off to do that, Gibbs got Oliver and Caroline in their jackets and strapped them into their car seats.

Theo gave Oliver his pacifier and Caroline hers and Gibbs thanked him. "Hey, it's been a while since you used the potty. Come on."

"No, thank you. I don't need to."

"Well, it's not a choice, baby. We're going to the store so you need to go now. Let's go."

Theo was in pull-ups now instead of diapers but they hadn't quite made it to underwear yet. Potty training was a real struggle with Theo just like most everything else was. He seemed to make it his mission to be as stubborn as possible about everything. Tony liked to say, "You had to know _your_ child would be strong-willed and hardheaded."

"Sit or stand?" Gibbs asked Theo when they made it to the bathroom.

"Stand," Theo said incredulously, as if the suggestion of sitting were offensive.

"Well excuse me, big man. I'm pretty sure just this past week you were sitting down on the potty," he said as he held his hands up in surrender.

Theo scowled and grinned. Gibbs helped him wash his hands and they came back out to leave. Gibbs put Theo in the car and asked him to get into his car seat while he put the babies' car seats into their bases. Then he came back around and strapped Theo in.

When they got to the store, Gibbs put Oliver in a sling that he wore, while he put Caroline's car seat on the front of the cart, and he held onto Theo's hand. He shook his head; this was not going to be easy.

They made their way inside and Gibbs let go of Theo's hand but told him to stay near him. So of course the first thing he did was run in the opposite direction when he saw something he wanted. Gibbs made his way over and grabbed his hand, "Now you get to hold my hand the whole time. If you'd done like you were told I would have let you walk around like a big boy."

Theo glared at him and tried to tug his hand away, to no avail. They managed to get three things before a tantrum happened. Gibbs put him in the back of the shopping cart which he thought was kind of funny for a minute and he laughed through his tears. Then he got mad again and threw one of the cans of formula over the side of the cart onto the floor. Oliver shrieked with laughter and Gibbs took Theo back out of the cart and said "Pick it up. Now." Theo picked it up and handed it to Gibbs. Gibbs put him back in the cart without another word and went on with his shopping.

He was pushing the cart and tending to a fussy Caroline when Theo reached out and pulled several things off the shelves onto the floor. Gibbs bit back a growl and took Theo out again. Theo stood there.

"Pick it all back up." Theo didn't move. Gibbs leaned down a little and said through clenched teeth "I said pick it up." With a frown, Theo picked each thing up and handed it to Gibbs to put back. Gibbs put him back in the cart and said "I'd like to know why you feel the need to make everything so difficult. Do you like to make things harder for me and Daddy? Do you think it's funny to do things like that? Are you angry about something that you're not telling us and this is your way of saying 'hey, I'm mad, notice me.'? Tell me what it is so we can work on this," he said as he walked.

Theo shrugged his shoulders and said "I don't know, Papa."

They finished their shopping trip with no more incidents, Gibbs quickly grabbing what they needed and hurrying to leave.

Oliver and Caroline fell asleep in the car and Theo was nodding off as well but Gibbs didn't want him to fall asleep since it was getting close to dinner time and bed time. "Theo Bean, wake up. Tell me a story." He glanced in the rearview mirror to see him forcing his eyes open as his head fell forward. "Tell me a funny story. I haven't heard one today."

He heard Theo sigh. "We're almost home. Then you'll have to help Papa figure out how to get everybody and everything in the house. Got any ideas?" There was no answer. He glanced in the mirror again. Theo's head was lying back against his car seat, his eyes were closed, and his mouth was open. He was sound asleep.

When Gibbs pulled into the driveway, he saw that Ducky was there. He got out of the car and went over to his friend, smiling, and hugged him. "Ducky, what are you doing here?"

"My work is done and Tony mentioned not being able to get home until late tonight. I thought I would give you some company."

"That's great. I was just at the store; you weren't waiting long were you?"

"Oh no, I just arrived a moment ago. What can I help with?"

"The kids are pretty heavy, I'll get them in. If you wanted to grab a few bags from the back, I'd appreciate it." Gibbs got both twins out and carried them in and put their car seats down before running back outside to carrying a still sleeping Theo inside. He put Theo on the couch and grabbed the rest of the groceries from the car. Ducky helped him put everything away and talked about the case they had just wrapped up at work.

"Have you eaten dinner yet, Duck?"

"Not yet, Jethro."

"Good, you'll eat with us," Gibbs said as he gave Ducky's shoulder a squeeze. "Let me go wake Theodore up or he'll never sleep tonight."

Theo was not happy at being woken up and started crying as he rubbed his eyes. "Baby, guess what. Uncle Ducky is here; he's in the kitchen. Let's go see him." Theo reached his arms up and Gibbs carried him into the kitchen. Theo clung to him and hid his face in Gibbs' neck.

"You love Uncle Ducky; why are you being a goofball? Say hi to him." Theo made a noise of protest and clung to Gibbs harder. "I have to make dinner, bud. Do you want to play a computer game?" Theo nodded against him and Gibbs took him to the computer. He got a game ready for him and got Caroline out of her car seat because she was awake.

"Hey pretty baby," he said as he kissed her cheek. She smiled up at him and put her hand on his face. He kissed her hand and bounced her gently. "You just stay my sweet girl, okay? There's too much testosterone in this house. Don't stop being the gentle angel that you are." He looked up when he got to the kitchen and smiled at Ducky. "How would you like to hold a baby?"

"I would be honored to hold this little lady," Ducky said as he took Caroline from Gibbs. Gibbs cooked and Ducky talked about various things from work to home to _that time in college when he_….

As he cooked, Gibbs listened intently and laughed often. He always enjoyed a story from Ducky. When they had been at work together, he'd always had to cut him off in order to get the job done. Outside of work, he had always looked forward to hearing the tales of Ducky.

While they ate, Gibbs alternated between feeding Oliver and Caroline and eating his own dinner. The twins ate a jar of baby food at dinner time now. Theo spent most of his dinner making faces at them which made them laugh hysterically. Gibbs tapped the table beside Theo's plate. "You going to eat or not?"

Theo looked at his plate for a moment then glanced back up at the twins, opened his mouth, and let his tongue hang out with a long drawn out "Aggghhhh." Oliver squealed in laughter and kicked his feet excitedly. Gibbs grinned and shook his head.

"Welcome to the Gibbs DiNozzo household, Ducky, where crazy is normal." Ducky chuckled and said, "I believe it, Jethro."

Gibbs put them all in the bathtub together for a really quick bath. Ducky helped him get them out, dried off, and into their pajamas. While he and Ducky were getting the twins in bed, Theo went downstairs. When Gibbs heard a door slam, he put a half-asleep Caroline in her crib and ran downstairs. He found a hyper, muddy Gunny running all over the living room.

"Theodore Henry," Gibbs said in exasperation, "Please don't open the door when I'm upstairs. You scared me, buddy." He grabbed Gunny up with his hands and held him away from his body. "Gunny needs to go back out until I can wipe him down. Blow a kiss or something, you need to go upstairs for bed."

When he got upstairs, he thanked Ducky for the help and went to Theo's room. When he got there, Theo ran out and into his and Tony's bedroom. Gibbs stood there for a moment before he went after him. "Come on, Theo. No games tonight. Let's read a story and then it's time to sleep."

"Where is Daddy?"

"He's working, you know that, baby."

Theo scowled and leaned against the bed. "Is he coming home soon?"

"I don't know when he's coming home. You'll see him in the morning. Come on," Gibbs said as he took Theo's hand.

Ducky came in and told him he'd gotten a call about his mother and needed to be going. "Ah, Ducky, I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more. It's just…hectic around here with the kids."

"No need, Jethro," Ducky said as he waved his hand, "I had a wonderful time, old friend."

"We'll have to hang out again sometime. I miss you, Duck," he said with a smile.

Ducky patted him on the cheek and grinned. "I'll let myself out, Jethro. Goodnight, Theodore."

Gibbs took Theo to his room and put him on the bed. Theo looked pouty and angry, crossing his arms over his chest which made Gibbs want to laugh. He held it back though and sat on the edge of Theo's bed with a book. He began to read softly when Theo exclaimed "I don't want this book!"

"Then choose a book, son." Theo got off the bed and walked over to his bookshelf. He grabbed one and came back over, climbing back up into the bed. Gibbs opened it and started reading again. Theo made an impatient noise and rolled around. Gibbs stopped for a moment until Theo was still again. When he started reading again, Theo kicked his foot into the book and knocked it out of Gibbs' hands.

Gibbs stood up. "Okay, I'm not doing this. Goodnight, Theo, I love you," he said as he put the book back and started for the door. Theo jumped out of the bed and ran after him. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's at work, Theodore. Get back in the bed, please."

"I want Daddy."

Gibbs picked him up and put him back in the bed. "You'll see Daddy in the morning, baby. Go to sleep."

"I want Daddy," Theo wailed and started crying into the pillow. Gibbs sighed tiredly and walked out of the room, shutting the door.

He went downstairs and let Gunny back in, wiping his muddy paws off and running a towel over his body. "Tomorrow you'll get a bath, Gunny." Gunny barked and wagged his tail. He followed Gibbs around as he locked up and turned off all the lights except the living room for when Tony got home.

Theo was still crying in his room with an occasional "Daddy!" and "I want Daddy, I want Daddy, I want Daddy," thrown in. After a few more minutes of this, Gibbs went back into his room and crawled into the small bad with him, pulling him close and murmuring gentle, soothing words into his ear while he rubbed his back.

Eventually they both fell asleep and shortly after that, Gibbs was woken by his lover. He was pulled along into their room where they fell into bed and Tony snuggled in close, sighing contently. Gibbs ran his fingers softly up and down Tony's bare back, earning a low hum of approval.

"Rough day?"

"Long day," Tony said against Gibbs' neck. Gibbs patted his back and relaxed into the bed. Tony arched his back. With a snort, Gibbs started to run his fingers gently along his back again.

"If you could never stop doing that, I'd be a happy man." Soon he was breathing deeply and evenly and Gibbs was able to drift off as well.

When he woke, it was to a pleasant sensation in his groin. Still feeling heavy with sleep, Gibbs groaned and blinked his eyes open to find himself staring into hazel-green eyes. He glanced over at the clock. "It's kind of sad when you have to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to have sex," Gibbs said in a sleep rough voice with a grin. Tony laughed. Soft lips met his and Gibbs rolled them so he could take charge of the kiss.

Just as things were getting heated, Theo said "It's good morning time!" at the door and Gibbs pulled away with a gasp, nearly rolling right off the bed. He and Tony both sat up in bed guiltily. This was their first almost-caught-in-the-act experience. Theo looked at them curiously for a moment before running and jumping into the bed. He crawled up in between them and got comfortable. Tony looked about 90% frustrated and 10% amused. He rolled onto his side and looked at Theo.

Theo wrapped his arm around Tony's neck. "Hi Daddy."

"Hi boo, what are you doing up?"

"I am up to see you."

Tony kissed his face several times and didn't say anything. There was a cry from the other room that quickly worked up into a full blown, pissed off scream. Gibbs went into the twins' room and got Oliver. He went back to their bedroom and lay down with him. Oliver lay with his head on Gibbs' shoulder, fussing a little and rubbing his eyes with his fist.

"Did you have to bring him in here?" Theo asked in a dull tone. Tony poked him, "Be nice."

Oliver continued to fuss as he tried to wake up more. Theo got in his face and started talking nonsense. Oliver laughed through his fussing and lifted his head up. His hair was sticking straight up on the side, near the front. Theo laughed loudly and patted his head.

He turned back to Tony and snuggled into him. "Daddy, do you have to go to work today?"

"Yes, today I have to go to work. Then I'm home for the weekend."

"And Papa is getting the h-e-l-l out of here before he loses his f-u-c…"

"Leroy Jethro, you need to wash your mouth out."

"Leroy Jethro! Leroy Jethro!" Theo started saying in a sing-song voice. Talking over their son, Tony said "Where you going?"

"I don't even care at this point. A trip alone to the store would even be like paradise. And that, my friend, is extremely sad."

Tony laughed and they decided to go downstairs. Caroline was up at this point too and Tony got her out. As they made breakfast, Gibbs soon found Tony was in a bad mood. Gibbs teased him about it before wrapping his arms around his waist. They really weren't getting enough time together and it was clearly starting to wear on their relationship. Tony leaned into him for a moment before pulling back and Gibbs frowned at that. There was a sure sign things weren't all great with them lately. Tony was never one to pull away from any kind of physical contact and lately it had been happening more and more.

"What do you say we have Abs or Ducky babysit sometime soon and we can go out?"

Tony shrugged, "If you want."

Gibbs looked a little surprised and maybe a tad stung and shrugged his shoulder, "Forget it, Tony. I'd hate to _force_ you."

Tony sighed and looked down. His phone rang then and he picked it up with a terse "DiNozzo." Then "Okay, I'll be there in a little while."

Theo heard this and immediately went into full blown tantrum mode. Tony left the kitchen and went upstairs to get dressed. Gibbs watched Theo crying and flailing around in anger. He crouched down and said "Come here, baby." Theo ran to him and wrapped his arms around him, crying broken-heartedly. Gibbs held him close and softly ran his lips over his head a few times.

Tony came back fully dressed and ready to leave. Gibbs was holding Theo and getting a plate of breakfast ready for him. "Would you rather have fruit or yogurt with your breakfast?" he asked him. Theo shrugged and didn't answer. Tony came over and pressed a quick kiss to Gibbs' cheek and leaned in to give Theo a kiss. Theo turned his face into Gibbs' shoulder and Tony straightened up, looking as if he'd been slapped.

"I'll… I'll be home tonight," Tony said, his voice a little husky with emotion, looking upset.

Gibbs put Theo at the table with his food and went to check on the twins. He picked Caroline up. She smiled up at him and there was amusement in her big, green eyes. Gibbs smiled down at her.

He thought about Tony and how things had been with them lately. It seemed to be an up and down rollercoaster. Some days everything was perfectly fine and normal and other days they argued and snapped at each other and Tony would go upstairs and Gibbs would go downstairs. He didn't like it. He missed how they used to be, doing everything together, hardly ever arguing and when they did it was quickly and easily solved with no hard feelings.

Something had to be done. If they had to get a babysitter once a week and go out on a date, Gibbs would make it happen. He couldn't let this relationship slip. He loved Tony too much to let things get bad. If they had to sit down and hold long, in-depth conversations that were completely tortuous because they were men and they liked to hold everything in and act like talking helped nothing, then Gibbs would try to make that happen. Their family was too important to let themselves go into a downward spiral.

Looking down at his baby girl, he placed kisses all over her face making her giggle and she grabbed his face in her little hands. Gibbs smiled. "You look like Daddy, sweet baby." Caroline babbled up at him and he walked back into the kitchen with her. "Yes, I know he's completely silly, but you just have to love him," he said back to her as if they were holding a conversation. She babbled back at him and he said "Me and Daddy…we'll work it out. I promise," as he kissed her head and put her in her highchair. He wouldn't let himself feel any doubt that they would work things out. They had to and he knew they could do it.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Gibbs and Tony were heading home from dinner with Tony driving and Gibbs in the passenger seat. The kids were at home with Ducky so that they could go out alone. Things had been starting to go downhill with their relationship and they were working hard not to let that happen. It was a bit rocky at times but they seemed to be doing really well lately.

When they pulled into the driveway Tony turned the car off and they sat there. "I had a good time," Gibbs said, somewhat awkwardly. Tony laughed and put his hand on Gibbs' knee.

"Sounds like we're on a first date or something."

Gibbs grinned and put his hand over Tony's. "Still, I did."

"I did too, Jethro," Tony said sincerely as he leaned over for a kiss. He pulled back and smiled, "Ready to see how they did?" Gibbs nodded and they got out.

When they walked in, Oliver and Caroline were lounging on the couch and Theo was lying on the floor. Ducky looked up, "You will have to tell me your secret to getting them in bed."

"When _we_ know, _you'll_ know," Gibbs told him. Ducky laughed and said "They were great. Bedtime was our only issue, as I know you can see."

"Bedtime has always been an issue. Come on guys. Upstairs," Gibbs told them. Oliver and Caroline got down off the couch and ran over to Gibbs and Tony. They were fifteen months now and walking and running all the time.

Theo, who was now four years old, continued to lie on the floor. "Hey, Theodore, that includes you, bud. Come on." Theo rolled over and looked at Gibbs with a glare. Gibbs stared him down and Theo got up. He stomped his way up the stairs while the twins were carried.

Gibbs put the twins in their cribs and walked into Theo's room. "What's up? Why are you angry?" Theo shook his head and didn't say anything. He had always had really bad tantrums and even now, at four years old, he proved to have a very angry temperament. Gibbs and Tony tried to get him to talk when he was down but it was always like pulling teeth.

He put Theo into the bed and covered him up. As he was telling him goodnight, Theo coughed a deep, nasty cough. Gibbs gave him a concerned look. Theo had had some slight cold symptoms the past few days but this cough was new. Feeling his forehead, he asked "You feel bad, baby?"

Theo shook his head no and said "I'm fine, Papa." He coughed again and it sounded awful. He felt his head again and said, "Okay, well if you feel sick tell me or Daddy." Theo nodded and lay back, closing his eyes. That alone showed Gibbs that he really didn't feel good. Theo almost never, ever willingly lay down and closed his eyes. Every night there was a story, there was stalling, there was whining and pleading, and then if they were lucky he would finally lie down and watch them as they walked out of the room. Most nights he would continue whining and pleading until they were out the door.

Gibbs went into his bedroom and changed into a pair of shorts and a plain t-shirt. He ran back downstairs and Ducky was gone.

"Ducky said he had to run and to tell you he'd talk to you later."

Gibbs nodded.

"Want to watch a movie with me?"

Gibbs hesitated. He had been planning to go work on the boat in the basement. "Sure, I'd like that." He smiled and sat beside Tony. Tony smiled at him and reached for his hand, linking their fingers together. "If you really wanted to go work on the boat, you can. I promise my feelings won't be hurt."

Gibbs lifted their hands and kissed the back of Tony's. "Didn't really want to," he said with a small shrug.

"Sap. I always knew you were a sap," Tony whispered.

"You caught me," Gibbs murmured.

They both drifted off together sitting on the couch, holding hands. Gibbs was woken some time later by Tony. His lower back was in agony. He winced and shifted a little.

"Come on, old man. I'll rub your back," Tony told him as he pulled him up off the couch. They made their way up, Gunny following after them. When they got in their bedroom, they found Theo lying in the middle of the bed on his stomach, completely spread out, mouth open and breathing loudly. He coughed in his sleep, sounding really congested. He mumbled and moved slightly, but didn't wake up.

Gibbs went over and felt his head again. "He feels warm, Tony." Tony came over and felt him too and nodded.

"Should I go get the thermometer? Has he ever had a fever before?" Tony asked, trying to think back.

"Sure, I think it's the medicine cabinet somewhere. And no, he's never had a fever before."

"Well, we made it to four years," Tony said with a smile as he went to get the thermometer. When he came back in the room they stood there for a moment. "Uh, so… you just… Where does it go exactly?"

Gibbs scratched his head and shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know? You've had a kid before!"

"What's your point, DiNozzo?"

"I don't know, maybe that you've done this before? Kelly never had a fever?"

Gibbs looked over at him and shrugged, "I'm sure she did, but not while I was around. I was gone more often than I was there, didn't give me a lot of time to experience all those things you experience as a parent."

Tony squeezed his shoulder before saying "Is it the same as an adult? Just stick it under the tongue?"

"That or under the arm, I think. I'd probably put it under his arm, maybe he'll stay asleep." Tony gave him a doubtful look and said "The kid wakes up if a floorboard squeaks. If he doesn't wake up, he's got to be really sick."

Gibbs lifted Theo's arm and worked the thermometer under it and held it against his body. Theo grimaced in his sleep and rolled onto his side.

The thermometer beeped and Gibbs removed it from under Theo's arm, holding it out so he could see what it said. It read 101.6 and if Gibbs remembered correctly a point was supposed to be added when it was done under the arm which would really make it 102.6. "The Bean has his first fever," Gibbs told Tony.

He started coughing in his sleep again and woke up. He looked around confused and half asleep. Gibbs went to get him some Tylenol while he was awake. Theo closed his lips tightly and shook his head when he tried to give it to him. When he opened his mouth to breathe, Gibbs tipped the medicine into his mouth. Theo started crying and the crying set off a coughing spell. He sounded completely congested and was starting to sound hoarse.

Gibbs rubbed his back to calm him down and Theo lay back again. Gibbs and Tony lay on each side of him and settled down to try to get some rest. Theo slept up against Gibbs with his face so close to his they were almost touching.

It was a very restless night with Theo coughing often. When they woke he had gone completely hoarse and sounded and looked pitiful. Gibbs woke with a headache, he couldn't breathe very well from his nose, and there was a tickle in the back of his throat. He cleared his throat and got up to help with the twins. The rest of the day and night were spent chasing after the babies and taking care of a very sick Theo.

When they woke the next day, after another restless night with Theo in their bed, Gibbs felt completely miserable and started coughing. Tony looked over at him. "No way…"

Gibbs shook his head and said "I'm fine," but when it came out rough and hoarse, they both knew he wasn't. His head was pounding and his throat was on fire. He coughed so hard he thought he'd cough up a lung. Groaning, he rolled over in the bed and pulled the covers up to his shoulders. He sniffled and closed his eyes.

"I guess I'll call into work, Jethro, with you and Theo both sick." He came over and started to put his hand on Gibbs' head. Gibbs batted his hand away and glared. "Don't, I'm fine," he croaked weakly. Tony ignored him and felt his head. "Jethro, you're not fine, you're burning up."

Tony told him to rest and Gibbs had no problem following that order. He closed his eyes and immediately dozed off.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony called into work and then called each of his coworkers to let them know he wouldn't be in.

"Bossman Snr. is _sick?_" Abby said in surprise.

"Yeah, I think it's the first time he's ever had a cold or whatever this is."

"Ouch. Good luck with that, Tony."

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, I'm going to need it today. Can you imagine a sick Gibbs? He's going to be hell to deal with."

"I do not envy you," Abby said. Tony snorted and told her he'd let her go. It was now 7:00 am and the twins had been fed breakfast and were now playing in the living room. Tony ran upstairs to check on Gibbs and Theo. Theo was supposed to get some more medicine and he needed to get Gibbs to take his temperature. He had felt pretty hot when he'd touched him.

Gibbs woke up when Tony woke Theo up to give him the medicine. Theo cried and started coughing so hard that he gagged. Jumping up, Tony said "Okay, calm down. It's okay. You're going to make yourself sick, Theo."

Theo said "I am sick," between coughs.

Tony wiped his face. "I know, I mean you're going to make yourself throw up if you keep carrying on and making yourself cough more."

Gibbs started coughing and it kept on for several minutes. After Tony was able to finally, with much struggling, get some medicine into Theo, he turned to Gibbs and held out the thermometer. "Here, take it."

Gibbs glared at him and rolled over. "Jethro, you're acting like our four year old. Take your temperature." Gibbs ignored him and Tony sighed. He put the thermometer on the side table and went back downstairs.

The twins weren't in the living room anymore. Tony went into the kitchen and yelped. Oliver and Caroline were both on the kitchen counter. Oliver was standing and leaning over the sink to look out the window. Caroline was walking across it to get to her brother. They both looked over and grinned when they heard Tony.

Climbing was not an uncommon thing with them. They climbed everything. He and Gibbs had found both of them at separate times climbing up the bookshelf. They often somehow managed to get onto counters. If it could be climbed, they would climb it.

But no matter how often it happened, it still always shocked Tony when he saw it. He went over and got them down. "You're not supposed to be on the counter, babies. What are you thinking?" They both babbled up at him before running off. He kept them busy for a while before going back upstairs to check on the sick ones. They were both asleep so he went back downstairs. By the time he got there, there was an entire box of baby wipes emptied all over the living room floor. Tony stood there for a moment with his mouth hanging open.

"Hi Dada," Caroline said as she threw a wipe in the air.

"Hi Caroline, why are the wipes all over the floor?" She grinned up at him and Oliver came running over, tripping over his sister. He cracked up and sat up, grabbing a wipe and putting it on his head. Tony crouched down and grabbed the box. "Help Dada put these up, please." Oliver laughed and ran at him, knocking into him as hard as he could. "There's a football career in your future, I can feel it," he said with a groan.

He was just about to start cleaning up the wipes when Gunny went running by with a shoe in his mouth. "Ah! Gunny! That's Papa's shoe. He will kill me," he said as he got up and ran after the dog. Oliver and Caroline thought this was hilarious and ran after them. Tony caught Gunny and grabbed onto the shoe but Gunny thought he was playing and he tugged back.

"Drop it, Gunny!" Gunny wagged his tail and tugged again. Tony pried his mouth open and took the shoe out. "Why do you do this to me? You never pull this kind of crap with Papa."

"Cwap! Cwap cwap cwap," Oliver bellowed as he ran around the living room. Caroline soon joined him and Tony sighed. Gibbs was definitely going to kill him.

He heard crying upstairs and then a hoarse "Tony!" and ran up the stairs two at a time.

"Hey, what's wrong? What's up?"

Gibbs pointed to the bed. Both Theo and the bed were covered in puke. Tony pulled Theo's shirt off then had him stand up and pulled his pants off before he picked him up. Gibbs leaned back against the wall looking like a strong wind could knock him over.

"Hey, can you go downstairs for a minute and just keep an eye on Oliver and Caroline while I clean this up?"

A noise of protest came from that direction. Tony's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Did you just _whine _at me?" He turned and looked at Gibbs who stared back at him for a minute before leaving the room.

Tony cleaned up Theo and the bed and put Theo back on it. He felt him again and he still felt as warm as he had earlier. He gave him his cup of water and told him to have a few sips.

"I want milk, Daddy."

"I know, boo, but milk won't help your cough."

Theo looked pitiful and exhausted and he started crying. Tony sat beside him and rubbed a soothing hand over his stomach. "After you finish this cup of water, maybe you can have a few sips of milk."

He managed to get him to drink a little water and asked him if he wanted some puzzles or toys. "I want to go downstairs with you and Oliver and Caroline."

"Is Papa being a party pooper?"

"Where is Pop?" Theo asked curiously, since he had been crying when Gibbs left.

"He's downstairs with the babies until I can go back down. I'll bring you some books and puzzles and toys in here, okay?" Theo nodded with a pout. Tony kissed his head and went back downstairs.

"Why are our 15 month olds walking around saying 'cwap,' Tony?"

"Uh… about that… it's a funny story…" Tony huffed a laugh and then shook his head seriously, "It was my bad, Jethro." Gibbs sighed which brought on a round of coughing, then started for the stairs.

"Wait! Bring this stuff up for L.B." Tony said as he handed some stuff for Theo to Gibbs.

Tony fed the twins and then brought them upstairs for a nap. They were jumping in their cribs and "talking" to each other as he walked out of the room. Gibbs said they always went down easily for him and napped for a long time.

He went and told Gibbs he was taking Gunny for a run. Gunny needed exercise and to be played with everyday or he started acting up. Tony thought maybe that was the reason for the shoe incident. Either that or the dog just had it in for him. It could very well be the latter.

When he walked back in the house from the walk and walked upstairs it was to find a very grumpy Gibbs in the twins' room.

"Tony, they're in here having a party. They need to sleep. They can't just…"

"Okay. Okay. I've got it. Go back to bed."

Gibbs stared at him and Tony said "Go, go. I'll deal with this."

When Gibbs left the room, Tony picked Caroline up and made Oliver lay down. He began to awkwardly rock Caroline and rub Oliver's back at the same time. That lasted about thirty seconds before Oliver was sitting up and grinning. Tony left him and continued to rock Caroline. She was looking up at him and playing with his shirt.

He went over to the rocking chair and sat down. As he rocked, he hummed softly. Caroline was happy to lay there and be rocked but she wasn't giving it up for the nap. She stared up at him with her bright green eyes, sucked on her pacifier, and ran her hand all over his shirt. But she wouldn't sleep. Then Oliver lost interest in whatever had been keeping him quiet and he stood up and started babbling at Tony.

"Lay down, Oliver. It's nap time. Sleep," he said quietly. Oliver grinned and bounced. "Dada! Dada!" he yelled and started jumping around again.

He lay Caroline down in her crib and got Oliver out to try to rock him instead. Oliver wouldn't lay still. He fidgeted and babbled and fussed. He kept trying to put his pacifier in Tony's mouth which he found very entertaining and funny despite how little Tony would react.

Tony gave up and put Oliver back in his crib. He left the room and decided they could just hang out for a little while. He went into his and Gibbs' bedroom.

Gibbs was laying and watching Theo play with his toy. "How are my boys feeling?"

Theo glanced up and said "My cough is tired."

"Your cough is tired?"

Theo nodded. Gibbs' lips quirked up into a small smile. "I think he means he's tired of coughing," he said in a raspy voice.

"Yeah? Is your cough tired?" he asked Gibbs as he went over and rubbed a hand down his arm. He lay down behind him and wrapped his arm around his waist, placing a kiss against the side of his neck. Gibbs rolled over so they were facing each other and said "Tony, I am so miserable. I can't breathe and my throat hurts and my chest hurts. I can't stop coughing. My head is going to explode."

A smile played at Tony's lips. "You're pitiful," he said. Gibbs sniffled and cleared his throat then he scooted forward a little and snuggled his face into Tony's chest.

"Can you breathe with your face like that?"

There was a mumbled response into his chest. "What?"

Gibbs pulled his head back and said "I can't breathe anyway, what does it matter?"

Tony laughed quietly and ran his fingers through Gibbs' hair. Gibbs was just starting to get really relaxed and was about drift off when he began to cough. He coughed until his face turned red and he was gasping for breath. When he was done, he lay his head against Tony again.

"I should go make sure the babies haven't jumped out of their cribs and destroyed the house. Plus I need to clean up their messes downstairs," he said as he started to pull away.

Gibbs wrapped his arm around him and said "Uh uh" and turned his face into Tony's chest again. Tony grinned and started to pull away again. Gibbs threw his leg over Tony's legs and growled into his chest. Tony laughed and rubbed his hand up and down Gibbs' back.

"Maybe one more minute," he said quietly as he continued to rub his back. Gibbs was completely wrapped around him and snuggled into him. A few minutes later he felt him fully relaxed against him, breathing deeply and somewhat loudly. He grinned and ran his hand softly over Gibbs' head.

"I'll take care of you, baby," he whispered as he continued to run his hand over him. Gibbs murmured in his sleep and tried to get even closer to Tony.

Reluctantly, Tony slowly moved away from Gibbs and got out of the bed.

"Hey, Pop is sleeping so if you need anything try to call for me downstairs instead of waking him okay?"

Theo nodded and opened one of his books. Tony looked back at them one more time before he left the room. When he peeked his head in the twins' room, they were lying in their beds but not sleeping. Tony quietly shut the door again. If they were lying down and resting, that was enough for him.

The living room and kitchen got a thorough cleaning after the Tornado Twins had blown through and caused mayhem and destruction.

When dinner time came around, Tony set to work making lasagna. Gibbs and Theo were in the living room watching TV and Oliver and Caroline were in their highchairs with coloring sheets. He looked over and saw half a crayon in Oliver's hand. He looked at his face and saw him chewing.

"Oliver, you don't eat crayons, man. That's gross. Spit it out." Oliver looked up at him and showed him his tongue which had crumbled, chewed up green on it. Tony swiped his hand over the baby's tongue and then made him open his mouth. He swiped his finger through Oliver's mouth once to get anything else out that he could.

"If you were that hungry, you could have said something," he said as he ruffled Oliver's hair. Oliver laughed and started drumming the highchair with his hands.

Gibbs came into the kitchen and sat at the table, laying his head down on his arms. Theo soon followed and sat in his chair. "Lasagna should be ready pretty soon. You guys want something to drink?"

"Lasagna?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, is that okay?"

"I don't want lasagna," he replied. Tony looked at him in confusion for a moment before he said "Okay, what would you like?"

Gibbs started coughing and when he was done he laid his head back down on his arms. "A peanut butter and jelly sandwich," he said.

Tony bit his lip and said "You want… a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?"

"No, nothing wrong with that, I just think it's kind of funny you want a PB&J over lasagna."

Gibbs grumbled something and closed his eyes. Tony went in search of peanut butter and soon realized they were out.

"We don't have any peanut butter."

Gibbs glowered up at him and said "Fine, I just won't eat."

"Do you want something else?" Gibbs shook his head no. Tony rolled his eyes and said "Okay, go hungry then."

Once everybody, minus Gibbs, began to eat, his lover began to make little sighs of impatience and was clearly getting agitated. After several minutes of this, Tony put his fork down. "Something wrong, Jethro?"

"I don't feel good," he said in a gruff voice. He did look like he felt terrible, but Tony's patience was starting to wear thin. He wasn't used to being at home and taking care of the kids and the house, add a sick Gibbs to that, his fuse was starting to get a little short.

"Then go lay down, Jethro. I don't know what to tell you. Take some medicine and go to bed." Gibbs left the table with a huff and coughed all the way up the stairs.

Bath time was a disaster. When Tony left the bathroom for a minute to get two towels, he came back in to find the bathroom floor covered in water. He yelled in shock and Gibbs came running. With a look of surprise and anger he said, "Damn it, Tony! I've told you a hundred times not to leave them in here alone!"

"Damn it, Tony!" Oliver yelled from the bathtub. Gibbs' face went bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment that he too had been copied by the toddler, Tony wasn't sure. Gibbs got the babies out of the tub while Tony started wiping up the bathroom floor. He came back in and helped with a pissed off look on his face. They cleaned up in silence and went back out to find Oliver trying to climb up their dresser and Caroline was jumping on their bed. Tony got them in their pajamas and put them in their beds. When he came out, he heard Gibbs talking to Theo.

"You can fall asleep in your bed and if you need to come in ours again, that's okay. But at least try to go to sleep in here." Tony walked in and sat beside Gibbs on Theo's bed. He soon found he was getting the silent treatment. Tony gave Theo a goodnight kiss and went in search of Gunny.

He took Gunny for a walk and thought about Gibbs. Staying home and taking care of everyone had really put into perspective just how much Gibbs did every day. Of course, he did have to deal with an uncharacteristically whiney Leroy Jethro Gibbs along with everything, but it still showed him that Gibbs' days were definitely no walk in the park.

Back at home, he crawled into bed with his lover and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry about the bathtub incident. I really shouldn't have left them," he said as he kissed the back of Gibbs' head. A hand reached back and patted him.

"Don't apologize, Tony. I've been a grumpy bastard all day."

"A little grumpy, a little whiney, but you're sick for, what, the first time ever? I'd say you've got reason to be a little less than charming."

Gibbs rolled onto his back and Tony lay on his side, propping himself up with his arm. "And I wanted to thank you for all that you do every day. You're great and I don't let you know that nearly enough."

Gibbs smiled and yawned. "Thanks. I think you're pretty great yourself. And good looking to boot."

Tony laughed and a chuckle escaped Gibbs even as his eyes were closing. Tony placed a kiss on his shoulder and lay down beside him. The day had been insane and hectic and the kids had added a few choice words to their vocabulary, but Tony had made it through with a sick Gibbs and lived to tell the tale. He thought maybe he deserved some sort of award or medal for that.

**I know Gibbs was even more OOC than usual in this chapter, but he was sick so... I hope you can look past that OOC-ness. I figured a sick Gibbs wouldn't be any kind of in-character *g* I really hope you enjoyed! And reviews make my day, so please leave me one. :) Thanks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Gibbs was waiting for Tony to get home from work then they were going to eat dinner and leave for Stillwater, Pennsylvania. They were going to visit his dad for the weekend. They decided to leave in the evening so maybe the kids would fall asleep on the drive. Gibbs wasn't holding out too much hope for that but it was worth a shot.

Oliver was chasing Caroline around the living room trying to get her toy. "Let me have it, Care-line!"

"I said no!" Caroline yelled as she looked back.

"Aw, come on," Oliver pleaded. Caroline stopped running and Oliver ran into her, knocking her forward. Oliver stared at her a minute and when Caroline started giggling he started laughing and threw himself at her. She screamed and scrambled away. They continued talking and arguing back and forth as the chase started again. Gibbs wasn't going to intervene if nobody was getting hurt. Let them wear themselves out.

Theo walked into the room, focusing on the book he had in hand, and Oliver ran at him jumping onto his back. Theo staggered and weaved for a moment before he maintained his balance.

"Get off of me, Oliver! Can't you act right for one minute!" Theo yelled as he threw his little brother off his back. Unbothered by his brother's scolding, Oliver jumped up and said "What you doing, Theo Bean?"

Theo said "Reading a book," in a distracted tone and made his way over to the coffee table.

"Read to me! I want to read…."

"No, Oliver, maybe another day."

"_Please_," Oliver begged. Theo sighed and closed his eyes. He stood completely still as if willing his temper under control. He looked down at Oliver and said in a very patient voice "I will read to you another day, Oliver. Right now I don't want to, okay?"

Oliver completely sidetracked went running for the dog, talking nonstop the whole way. Caroline was playing with her baby doll and talking quietly. She made her way over to Gibbs. "Papa, baby is sad."

"Uh oh, why is baby sad?"

"She… she hurt her tummy. Poor baby."

"Oh, poor baby," Gibbs said, slightly dramatically. "You should sing to her and rub her belly."

"You sing to her, Papa," Caroline said as she thrust the doll his way, innocent eyes staring up at him.

Caroline had both him and Tony completely wrapped around her little finger. Gibbs didn't hesitate to play with the doll, singing and rocking and rubbing its stomach.

"What do you think? Is she all better?"

Caroline took the doll back and held her up. "She all better, Papa."

Gibbs smiled at her and got up to check one more time that they had everything they needed. Tony walked in the door and said "Daddy's home!"

"Daddy!" Caroline yelled and ran to him. He scooped her up and spun her around, making her laugh in delight. Oliver yelled and charged at him. Before he could run into him, Tony grabbed him up and held him on his other arm and pressed kisses all over his face. Oliver screeched and grabbed Tony's face to start kissing him back.

Theo said "Hi Dad," from the floor where he was reading.

"Hey big man, what are you doing?"

Theo glanced up. "I'm reading."

Tony put the twins down and they both went their separate ways, talking and babbling the whole time. Gibbs and Tony made their way to each other and shared a quick kiss.

"Their mouths have not stopped moving all day long. Not once have they stopped talking. Ask Theodore; I'm not exaggerating. Both of them, at once even, the entire day."

Tony laughed. Gibbs really wasn't exaggerating. It seemed that both Oliver and Caroline felt the need to talk at all times. Even if they had to talk over each other, they would keep talking. Sometimes it came out gibberish and nobody had any idea what they were saying, but they were also starting to speak pretty clearly now. Gibbs didn't think the house had had _any _kind of quiet in two years. They were Tony's kids, for sure.

"Can we get going and stop somewhere for dinner?" Tony asked. Gibbs shrugged, "Sure, if you want to deal with them in a restaurant." They put the kids in some comfortable clothes so they could fall asleep later and they wouldn't have to change them when they got to Jackson's house. Gibbs and Tony put their stuff in the back of the SUV and went back inside to get the kids and put Gunny outside. McGee would be feeding him over the weekend for them.

When they sat down for dinner, Caroline desperately wanted to speak to the man sitting at the table near theirs. "Ascuse me, sir. Ascuse me!" The man looked slightly uncomfortable and shifted in his seat.

"Caroline, I don't think he wants to talk right now, baby," Gibbs said, trying to hold back a chuckle.

Oliver tapped his sister's arm and pointed toward the man. Caroline leaned toward him, "Ascuse me, sir. Ascuse meeeeeee!" she said loudly. Gibbs put his hand over her mouth and said "Caroline Elizabeth, why are you yelling?"

"I talk to him!"

"I just said he doesn't want to talk. Now eat your dinner."

Oliver and Caroline looked at each other for a second before they started laughing. After a few minutes of listening to them ramble back and forth, Theo asked, "Why can't I sit in my booster seat, Papa?" They had recently bought Theo a booster seat for the car. He would be turning five soon and they would see how they felt about putting him in the booster rather than the car seat at that point. They wanted to keep him in the car seat as long as possible before they made the switch though.

"I told you, son, when you're bigger we'll use the booster."

"Connor from preschool got to use a booster and he's only _four_ and I'm almost _five_ and I still have to sit in that baby car seat!"

"Well that's great for Connor, but you're not Connor. And you may _almost_ be five but that doesn't mean that you are five. The car seat isn't for babies. Most kids your age are still in car seats."

"I'm too big for the car seat; I need to use the booster."

"Last I checked you still fit very comfortably in the car seat. You even have some room to grow in it. I'm sorry buddy, but you have no choice in this. You stay in the car seat until Daddy and I decide we're okay with you going in the booster." Theo glared at him and Gibbs glared back. Theo bit his lip and was clearly trying not to laugh.

When they finally finished dinner, they began to walk past the man from earlier. Oliver said loudly, "You need good manners, sir!" Gibbs grabbed him up and walked past the man a little faster than he normally might have. Tony was laughing as they walked out.

"Where exactly do they get their good manners from, Jethro?" Tony asked him with a confused look on his face.

Gibbs shrugged, "We say please and thank you to them usually."

"Yeah, but that's about it. And we definitely never say 'sir.' It's so funny that they say that all the time." Both Oliver and Caroline had a habit of calling everybody sir, sometimes even women. He and Tony weren't sure where they had picked it up though. It was amusing.

They got everybody strapped back in and got on the road. Oliver was talking loudly about something and then he yelled "My binky!" Gibbs saw Tony reaching back and searching around the floor for the pacifier. When he finally found it, he wiped it off and handed it back to him. "Don't drop it again or you might not get it back." Oliver put it in his mouth and began talking around it. Gibbs briefly rolled his eyes up. Even with the pacifier in his mouth, he never stopped talking.

Caroline said "I need to say something!"

"What do you need to say?" Tony asked her.

"When we be out of the car?"

"Not for a while, sweet baby. You'll be asleep when we get to Grandpa's," Tony said, then added quietly "I hope." Gibbs grinned.

An hour later, the twins were still wide awake and talking to each other. Theo was trying to talk over them to Gibbs and would snap, "Can't you _hush?_" when they'd continue to talk.

"Why you such a grumpy pants, Theo Bean?" Caroline asked her brother.

"I'm not a grumpy pants but you two don't ever stop talking. Let somebody else talk for once!"

"Well you are…"

Gibbs cut her off with a loud "Okay!" When everybody was silent he said "That's enough. It's time for all of you to go to sleep."

"But…" Caroline started.

"No, no more. Put your binky in your mouth and close your eyes."

There was a whispered "I think Theo Bean get his grumpy pants from Papa." Tony coughed out a laugh before he quickly put on a serious face.

"Go to sleep, guys. It's bed time."

"What about a story?" Theo said.

"Yeah, a story!" Oliver yelled around his pacifier.

"Yeah, a story!" Gibbs said from the driver's seat and glanced over at Tony. Tony touched his arm and said "What story would you like to hear, little boy?"

He heard Theo giggle in the back seat. Caroline said "No story. Papa sing."

"Yeah, Papa sing!" Oliver said excitedly.

"Papa doesn't want to sing," Gibbs said.

"Sing sunshine," Caroline said.

Theo said angrily, "That's _my_ song, Caroline!" Gibbs had always sung "You are My Sunshine" to Theo since he was a baby.

"Okay, Theodore. Don't start an argument. I won't sing sunshine."

They all started talking about what Gibbs should sing, Tony included which made Gibbs want to roll his eyes or smack the back of his head, when Theo said over everybody, "Excuse me! I need to pee!"

"Didn't you go to the bathroom back at the restaurant?"

"Yes, but I need to go again."

"Can you hold it for a few minutes?"

"No."

Gibbs sighed. "I'm in between exits, bud. You'll have to wait a minute."

Then Caroline said loudly, "He throw his binky at me!"

"Dada, I need my bink."

"Well, I told you not to drop it again and you just threw it. So no bink right now."

A broken hearted wail began in the back seat. It wasn't a tantrum, it was true crying. Theo must have had a tantrum every single day of his toddler life and he still had them to this day, but Gibbs didn't think the twins had ever thrown a single tantrum. They argued some, cried like any other child, but they just didn't have tantrums.

Caroline got upset because her brother was so upset and she started crying too. Tony was working to calm them down when Theo yelled "Why can't they just be quiet?" and he started crying too. Gibbs' hands tightened on the steering wheel. "So much for our brilliant plan to drive at night," he said to Tony. Tony snorted and said "Yeah."

When they stopped to let Theo use the bathroom, Gibbs got out and opened the back door where Oliver was. He put his face against Oliver's and nuzzled gently, shushing him quietly. Oliver immediately calmed down and put his hand on Gibbs' face. His breath hitched and he sighed, "Papa." Gibbs began to very softly sing to him, all the while keeping his face against Oliver's. Within minutes, Oliver was asleep. Caroline reached her hands out for him. Gibbs closed Oliver's door as quietly as he could and went around the other side so he could get to Caroline. He did the exact same thing he'd done with Oliver and within a minute Caroline had dropped off as well.

They both, like Tony, needed much physical contact. Reassuring touches, cuddling, hugs. They had always both especially liked things against their faces. It had always been a source of comfort for them. In situations where they couldn't be calmed otherwise, Gibbs would hold them so he could put his face against theirs or would gently run his hand over their faces and they would almost immediately calm down. And they both loved to rub their blankets against their cheeks.

When Tony came back out with Theo, Gibbs put his finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet. As he buckled Theo into his car seat he whispered, "You need to go to sleep. And if you wake your brother and sister up, I will be very upset. Do you understand me?" Theo nodded and laid his head back. Gibbs kissed him and got back in to leave.

They slept the rest of the drive and Tony talked quietly the rest of the way. Sometimes Gibbs listened and responded and other times he just let Tony talk. When they finally got to his dad's house, they tried to be as quiet as possible and keep them asleep but when they started to get their bags out, Caroline woke up disoriented and crying which woke the other two up. They got the kids out of the car just as Jackson came out on the porch.

"Grandpa!" Theo said as he ran toward the house. Oliver squirmed in Gibbs' arms trying desperately to get down and run to his Grandpa like Theo had. Gibbs and Tony each put the twins down and they made for the house. Jackson picked them each up to give them a hug, holding them close when he did.

Gibbs and Tony carried the bags to the house and Gibbs dropped them just inside, turning to his dad. "Dad," he said as he walked forward a few steps to wrap him in a hug. They embraced each other tightly and Gibbs pressed a kiss to the side of his father's head. Tony hugged him next and Jackson patted his cheek with a warm smile.

They all made their way inside and sat down. "I want to sleep with Grandpa," Theo said immediately.

"Then you'll have to ask him. That's up to Grandpa," Gibbs said. Theo looked up at Jackson and said "Can I, Grandpa? Please?"

Jackson smiled down at him, "Of course you can, Theo."

"I sleep with Grandpa!" Oliver said. Caroline perked up, "And me!"

Gibbs shook his head. "You two will be in the playpen. Sorry kiddos." He and Tony brought the Pack and Play to put the twins in for sleeping. It would be a little cramped but they didn't really have any other options. The bed he and Tony would be sleeping in would be a tight squeeze if they tried to put the twins in bed with them.

"You can put their playpen in my room, Leroy."

"Ah, Dad, we couldn't do that. I'm sure they'll be up all night especially since we're in a different place."

"What do I care? I'll get up every hour if I have to. These are my grandbabies."

Gibbs smiled and said "Okay, we'll put their playpen in your room." He squeezed Tony's leg, "We should go put that up and take the bags upstairs."

They got the bags upstairs and set up the playpen in Jackson's room before going back downstairs to get the kids. Getting them back to sleep was a hassle with rocking, patting, shushing, and singing. When they finally did get them back to sleep they said goodnight to Jackson and headed for Gibbs' old room.

He woke the next morning at 6:00 and made his way downstairs. His dad was down there with all three kids and they were laughing about something.

"We weren't too loud, were we son? We didn't wake you?"

"Are you kidding? 6:00 in the morning? This is sleeping in," Gibbs said with a smile. "Are you being wild children as usual?"

Jackson chuckled and said "They're just spirited, Leroy."

"They are that, Dad."

Gibbs got a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table to read the paper while the kids were entertained. It wasn't often he could sit and read the paper; he wouldn't hesitate to take this chance. Jackson was telling the kids a story and they were all listening intently, looking up at their Grandpa with wide, curious eyes.

Gibbs looked over at the fridge to see some of the pictures he and Tony had mailed to his father recently. One of Theo looking serious, but it was a close up so his big blue eyes looked amazing. There was one of Tony holding Oliver in the air and both of them looking at each other with grins, a picture of Caroline in a pink shirt, pointing at something with a shocked face, and one that Tony had taken of Gibbs, a small smile playing at his lips and a warm look in his eyes.

"Papa," Theo said and Gibbs looked back in their direction. "Yes?" he answered.

"Grandpa said this was your toy train when you were a little boy," Theo held up a small toy train.

"Let me see," Theo handed him the train and Gibbs studied it for a moment before he smiled. "So it was. I think this was a gift from L.J. when I was about seven or eight."

"Who is L.J.?"

"L.J. was Grandpa's very best friend. He was a good man." Gibbs said with a smile. "You would have liked him, Theo," he told his son as he handed the train back to him.

"Where is he now, Papa?" Theo asked curiously. Gibbs was hesitant to bring up the subject of death. After finding a dead bird recently, Theo had been very concerned and worried about anything to do with death. A lot of the hard questions like _what happens when you die _and _does it hurt to die _and _do you ever wake up again _had been asked. Sometimes he would randomly ask, "But I'm not going to die _soon_, right?" with an anxious look on his face.

"Well, buddy, he died a long time ago," Gibbs told him. When an upset look began to come over his face, Gibbs quickly sidetracked. "Hey, I bet Grandpa wouldn't mind if you kept that train. Why don't you ask him?"

When Theo asked him, he said "It's your train, Leroy." Gibbs told Theo they would bring the train home. That made him smile and he continued to hold and play with the toy.

"Where's your other half, son?" Jackson asked him a few minutes later.

"He's asleep. I usually try to let him sleep in some if he wants when he's not working. If he's not up pretty soon, I'll probably send the kids up to wake him. That's always fun," he said with a chuckle.

When Tony was up and everybody got dressed, they headed for Jackson's store. Gibbs and his dad had already talked about the store and his dad had told him he would probably only be able to keep up with it another couple of years. Gibbs had told him he understood and would support whatever decision he made.

At the store, Gibbs helped his dad with his morning routine to start the day while Tony "watched" the kids. Saying he'd watch the kids must have meant he'd sit on his butt because the kids were all over the store, with the twins climbing up the shelves. After Gibbs had gotten both of them down himself, he threw his arms up and shot a glare Tony's way.

A few people that had moved here after Gibbs had left when he was younger came to the store. Oliver and Caroline greeted them happily and immediately engaged them in conversation.

"They're very social, aren't they? Much more than Theo," Jackson commented with an amused look on his face.

"They know no strangers," Gibbs said as he picked his daughter up. "Caroline, please don't follow them around the store." She looked at him and said "I see what they are doing."

"They're buying stuff from the store, baby. They don't need you following after them."

She frowned slightly before wiggling to get down. Gibbs put her down and she stayed nearby. Oliver, on the other hand, was missing. Growling softly, he went in search of his younger son. He found him in the back corner of the store, having an animated conversation with an older man. Apologizing softly, Gibbs pulled Oliver away from him and back to the front of the store.

"You can't watch them for a few minutes?" He said quietly to Tony, irritated. Tony gave him a slightly apologetic look and took Oliver's hand. Oliver started bouncing around and pulling away from Tony, laughing a deep belly laugh.

"You guys want to go for a walk?" Gibbs asked Tony and the kids.

"Yeah! Yes, outside, outside. Please," Oliver said as he jumped around. Caroline started running around Gibbs saying, "Yeah, outside! Outside!"

Theo looked over from the counter where he was sitting and talking to his Grandpa. With his brow furrowed, he said "I like it in here. I want to stay with Grandpa."

Just then a man went up to pay for his stuff. Gibbs took Theo from the counter, "Well, let's just go out for a little while and let Oliver and Caroline burn off some energy." Theo glared at his brother and sister before he started squirming to be put down. The "I'm too big to be held" phase had started in the last few months.

"Come on, Caroline. We're going for a walk." She grabbed her pacifier and popped it into her mouth as she started to walk over. "I think you should leave the binky, Miss." She shook her head no and said "My binky," around the pacifier. Gibbs pulled it out of her mouth and put it back in the bag.

"I need it," she said as she started to go back. Gibbs grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back toward the door.

"You can have it tonight at bed. You don't need it right now." They all said bye to Jackson and walked out the door.

They began to walk down the sidewalk, toward the other side of town where there would be a small park and playground where the kids could play. Gibbs held Caroline's hand while Tony held Oliver's and they let Theo walk on his own with the promise of staying on the sidewalk. Being trusted to do as told and being able to walk without his hand being held like a baby, Theo held his head a little higher and prouder.

They passed a few people as they went. Gibbs recognized some and nodded a polite hello to them; others he didn't recognize at all.

Oliver and Caroline ran forward in a burst of energy when they got to the play set. Theo made his way to the swings and yelled for Tony to push him "high, higher than the sky!"

Gibbs strolled over to the play set and watched the twins running around. Caroline made her way over to a slide and went down it with a thrilled laugh. Oliver's face peeked down at him through bars, "Come up, Papa!"

"I think I'll stay down here. Why don't you go down a slide?"

Oliver made a face at him through the bars and said "Up, up! _Please?_"

"Now how could I say no to that?" Gibbs said as he made his way over to the little stairs leading up. Crouching down, Gibbs made his way to the little bridge where his son was. Oliver screeched happily and grabbed his Papa's hand, pulling him forward. He dragged Gibbs over to the slide and looked up at him expectantly.

Gibbs smiled down at him and stood there. Oliver sighed at him and went behind him, pushing against his legs, grunting with the effort. "Go down, Papa!" he suddenly yelled, getting frustrated and upset. Gibbs made a face before he lowered himself down so he was sitting with his legs on the slide. Oliver pushed at his back and Gibbs did what he wanted him to do; he went down the slide. Oliver was watching him from the top and laughing excitedly. He flung himself onto the slide and went flying down after Gibbs.

Caroline had watched this from nearby and came running over with a grin. She ran into Gibbs' arms and said "Again, Papa. Go slide."

They spent a few more minutes at the park before they went back to the store. They stayed there with Jackson for a little while before he closed up for the day and they went back to the house. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing outside in the back yard and looking at old pictures inside. Theo was fascinated by the pictures of his Papa as a boy. And the naked baby pictures had him rolling with laughter.

Jackson made them dinner and they all sat around the table, eating and talking. When he was done, Gibbs leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. "Good dinner, Dad. Real good."

"Thank you, son."

Gibbs watched his dad talking to Caroline. He regretted not getting the kids up here to see him more often. Jackson was getting old and he wouldn't live forever.

They all stayed up late talking and just being with each other in general. Theo ended up falling asleep on the couch, leaning against Jackson. Gibbs carried him upstairs and put him in his dad's bed.

Leaving the next day proved to be somewhat emotional. Theo clung to his Grandpa and was clearly holding back tears. Gibbs hugged his dad close and kissed his cheek, promising to call when they got home. As they were getting in the car, Theo said "I need one more hug!" as he struggled to get down. One long squeeze later, Theo was in his car seat. Everybody got strapped in and they all waved out the window as they pulled out.

The first two minutes of the drive were shockingly completely silent. Then it happened. The dreaded question was asked.

"Are we there yet?"

**Did you like? Leave me a review, please. Pretty please? :) Thanks for reading!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry for the delay! I'm getting to the end of the semester at school which means major stress and no time to do anything else. So bear with me for the next couple of weeks and then I'll be free of homework and studying! (Yay!) ;) I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews are always very much appreciated. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

Today was Theo's first day of kindergarten and the morning was proving to be a challenge. He was doing the opposite of everything that Gibbs was telling him to do. He was moping around the house when he should have been getting his clothes on. Instead of eating his breakfast when asked, he sat on the floor with Gunny. After he finally ate a few bites, Gibbs told him to go brush his teeth. So naturally, he went to the living room and asked the twins what they were doing.

"Don't worry about what Oliver and Caroline are doing, Theo. Go brush your teeth," Gibbs told him from across the room. Theo glanced up at him then back at the twins. "Now!" he barked and Theo headed for the stairs.

Tony wanted Gibbs to take a picture of their boy on his first day of school and when Theo got back downstairs Gibbs handed him his backpack which he put on.

"Go stand by the door. Daddy wants a picture." Theo didn't move.

"I wasn't _asking_, I was _telling_. Go."

He stomped over to the door and looked up at Gibbs. A scowl came over his face when Gibbs brought the camera up. Gibbs snapped a picture.

"What a great first day of school picture," he commented. The scowl deepened. Gibbs snapped another picture. "Very nice, Theo, now smile." Theo rolled his eyes up and didn't smile.

"If I said _butt _would you smile?" A grin spread across his face even as he tried not to let it happen. Gibbs quickly took a picture. "Much better. I'm glad to know Daddy's butt humor has paid off after all."

Theo giggled and Gibbs snapped the picture, getting one of him laughing. Gibbs smiled. "Okay, I'm done. Got everything? Let's go outside and wait for the bus."

Any trace of happiness immediately left Theo's face. "Do I have to ride the bus, Papa? Can't you just drive me there like preschool?"

"It'll do you some good to ride the bus," Gibbs said as he ushered his children outside. Oliver and Caroline were delighted to be outside so early. As Gibbs kept an eye on them, he said to Theo, "Remember if you need help with anything, you tell your teacher. And she'll help you get back to your bus this afternoon when you leave. I'll be out here when you get home." Theo didn't respond to any of this. Gibbs laid his hand on top of his head. "Have fun today and learn a lot. Okay?" Theo nodded.

"Have fun in kindy-garten, Theodore!" Oliver said as he ran around the driveway. Caroline ran over to Theo and looked up at him. "Come back home fast, Theodore, we miss you!" She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as tight as she could. Theo looked slightly annoyed at first but then he hugged her back and kissed her head.

"Can you guys stop calling me Theodore all the time, please? I'm _Theo,_" he told them. The twins had taken to calling him Theodore most of the time lately. Gibbs didn't think it was necessarily that Theo minded being called Theodore; it was more that it was the twins calling him that. He wanted to make an issue of it.

"Okay, Theodore," Caroline said as she patted his arm sweetly. Gibbs couldn't help grinning.

When the bus came, Theo looked torn between wanting to cling to Gibbs and wanting to look like a big boy.

"I love you, Theo. Have a great day." Theo's lip pouted and his eyes welled up. "Hey, you're okay. There's nothing to be scared of," Gibbs said as he tapped Theo's chin gently. "Go, you'll be fine." Theo went up the bus steps and got into a seat, pressing his hands against the window and watching with sad, scared eyes. Gibbs lifted his hand to wave and he saw Theo burst into tears as the bus pulled away.

With a sigh, Gibbs told the twins to come back inside. He hated that Theo was upset but he figured he would be okay once he got there and got settled into class.

When they got inside he called Tony to tell him he had gotten Theo on the bus.

"Did he do okay?"

"Well, he's been a little piece of work all morning with the attitude and then I saw him crying when the bus pulled away."

"Well shit," Tony said.

"He's just nervous. He'll get used to it just like he got used to preschool. He just doesn't do as well with new situations as the twins do. I'm sure they'd be thrilled if we put them in preschool." The twins were two and could go into a preschool program, but Gibbs and Tony decided to wait until they were four and put them in the year before kindergarten.

Tony laughed, "Probably. I kind of dread the phone calls we'll get about them though." He said in a formal tone as if imitating someone, "Mr. DiNozzo, I'm calling because your children were climbing up the side of the wall like Spiderman and we just… we can't have that here."

"Speaking of… it's gotten very quiet in here. I better go see what they've gotten into. I love you."

"I love you. Miss you," Tony said as he hung up.

Gibbs had walked into the kitchen while on the phone and he walked back into the living room. Oliver and Caroline were sitting side by side on the couch, very still and very quiet. Gibbs was immediately suspicious. Sitting beside Caroline, he asked "What's going on?"

"We are waiting for Theodore, Papa."

Smiling, he patted Caroline's leg. "Theodore won't be back until this afternoon, a while after your nap."

"Why?" Oliver asked.

"He's in school until 2:30, buddy. And it's still only morning and he just left."

"But you get Theodore _before_ nap," Oliver said in confusion.

"That was preschool. He's in kindergarten now. It's different."

They all continued to sit there in silence for a moment which shocked Gibbs. Oliver and Caroline being still and being quiet? Were they in an alternative universe?

It didn't last long. About thirty seconds later, Oliver gasped in surprise and yelled "Where did Gunny go?" before jumping off the couch and running for the kitchen. Caroline said "I wonder if he is upstairs!" and jumped off as well. They both yelled "Gunny, where are you?" as they ran around the house.

Gunny was outside.

Gibbs smelled something unpleasant and wrinkled his nose. "Who stinks?"

"That's Caroline," Oliver said. Gibbs gave him a look and said "So it's you then?" He checked Oliver's diaper and said "Ew, you stink, baby."

Oliver pursed his lips then said "I not stink!"

"Do too."

Oliver shook his head no.

"Come on, let's change your diaper and then you guys can draw a picture for Daddy. Maybe we'll take him some lunch later, what do you think?"

After the diaper was changed, Gibbs gave them some paper and crayons and sat down on the floor beside them at the coffee table. He grabbed a crayon and pulled a sheet of paper over and began to sketch, in deep concentration.

Oliver peeked over at his drawing as he scribbled on his own paper. "What you drawing, Papa?"

Gibbs looked over at him, "My boat, on the water."

Caroline walked over and leaned against him, looking down at his drawing. "That is very good, Papa. I like your boat and your squiggle waves."

"Oh thank you. I'm pretty proud of my squiggle waves."

She patted his shoulder and went back to her drawing. Gibbs started to draw five little stick people on the boat. One of them he drew with hair sticking up. He drew a conversation bubble out beside it and wrote "I think my hair is the coolest" inside it. After a few more finishing details, he put his crayon down and smiled, holding his paper out to admire his work.

On the twins papers he wrote "To Daddy, love Oliver" and "To Daddy, love Caroline" so he could give them to Tony and remember who had drawn what.

"These are great pictures. Tell me about yours," Gibbs said to Caroline as they made their way upstairs to get dressed.

As Caroline was trying to put her shirt on by herself, Gibbs asked Oliver if he wanted to go potty. Oliver shrugged and said "Okay, sure." Gibbs turned to Caroline whose head was hidden in the shirt.

"Oliver is going to use the potty, Caroline."

She pulled the shirt back off and tossed it on the floor. "I want to watch."

Gibbs snorted and said "Whatever, kid."

Gibbs put the potty seat on the toilet and helped Oliver get up on it. He sat on the edge of the tub and Caroline stood beside him. Oliver sat there patiently and smiled at them.

After a minute or so had passed, Caroline said "Are you going pee-pee yet?" Oliver shook his head no and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his legs.

"You know, if you don't have to go, you don't have to sit there," Gibbs told him. Oliver sent a small glare his way. "Or we can sit in here all day. When it comes to the possibility of you using the toilet, my patience knows no end," Gibbs said with a smile.

Caroline went over and started pulling toilet paper off the roll. "Here you go, Oliver." Oliver took the toilet paper and pushed it down into the toilet with a grin.

"Caroline, go put your shirt on so we can leave soon."

"I'm watching Oliver go potty, Papa," she said with a scowl. Gibbs rolled his eyes up and left them to go grab her shirt. When he got back in the bathroom a minute later, Caroline was sitting in the sink and Oliver was standing, naked from the waist down, on the edge of the tub.

"Did you pee, Oliver?" Oliver glanced back at him and shook his head no. He got down off the edge of the tub, suddenly got a surprised and anxious look on his face, and then proceeded to pee on the bathroom floor.

Gibbs didn't get upset. He could tell Oliver hadn't meant to do it. By the look on his face, he had been caught by surprise.

"I'm glad you sat on the potty, bud. That was a good try. Maybe next time you can sit a little longer?" Gibbs suggested calmly as he began to clean the floor. When he was done he re-diapered Oliver and put his pants back on him then got Caroline out of the sink, called her goofy, and put the shirt on her.

After letting a hyper Gunny out, Gibbs walked outside with the kids and got them in the car. He had grabbed the pictures they drew earlier and had also grabbed a book for each of them to look at on the way there. Caroline was making up her own story and talking very quickly. Oliver was actually being completely silent. Gibbs frowned and looked in the rearview at him, thinking maybe he had fallen asleep. Instead, he found him with a pacifier in his mouth.

"Hey you little sneak, where'd you get the binky?"

He heard Oliver giggle. "It's my binky."

"Well it's going back in the bag when we get to Daddy's work. You know the binky is for nap and bed time." Gibbs heard him sucking on it more rapidly. Theo had never taken a pacifier but the twins were pacifier addicts. He and Tony had started limiting the pacifier to nap time and bed time around the time they turned two. They weren't sure when they would work on taking them away completely. If it was a source of comfort for them, and it was, then they wouldn't get too worked up about taking them away just yet.

Gibbs stopped at a burger place and got Tony a burger and fries. He knew the unhealthy junk food would make his lover happy. Since the kids had been born, they had both made a conscious effort to eat healthier. The kids almost never got any kind of sweets or fast food. Those were rare treats. He and Tony did occasionally still eat pretty unhealthily but they had gotten a lot better. Tony would love this artery clogging meal. He picked up some extra stuff for the team in case they wanted anything.

When they got to NCIS Gibbs got the kids out and held their hands as they made their way up to the office. They both said hello to everyone as they passed and a few times made Gibbs stop completely so they could chatter with somebody.

He finally had to pick them up and go without stopping or looking back or they would never make it upstairs.

When Tony saw them his eyes lit up. He got up from his desk and came around to take Caroline from Gibbs' arm. He kissed her and nuzzled her cheek.

"This is a great surprise. And lunch too?" Tony said with a big smile. Gibbs put the bag on Tony's desk and put Oliver on the floor. He immediately ran past the desks, going as fast as his little legs would allow. He badly wanted to explore this big, interesting building without an adult hindering his every move. Gibbs caught up with him easily and took his hand, gently pulling him back to where they had been.

"I stay, I promise," Oliver said. Gibbs held back a snort and let go of Oliver's hand. Oliver went over to McGee and said "How you doing, Probie?"

"Hey, that's Uncle Probie to you, pipsqueak."

Oliver laughed loudly and climbed up into McGee's lap, settling back against his chest.

"No case?" Gibbs asked.

"Nah, cold cases," Tony answered as he took a big bite out of the burger. "Slow day," he talked around a mouth full of food.

Caroline had the bottom drawer of Tony's desk pulled open.

"Caroline, don't pull all of Daddy's papers out," Gibbs told her as he looked at her from the other side of the desk. She looked up at him and smiled innocently.

"You think Theo is doing okay?" Tony asked with a sad look on his face.

Gibbs nodded, "I'm sure he's fine. Or managing, at least."

"But does he _have_ to ride the bus?"

Gibbs growled and said "Yes, he has to ride the bus, Tony. Why do I always have to be the bad guy? If you want to drop him off and pick him up everyday you're more than welcome to. But if I did it that would mean getting all three kids dressed and in the car just to drop Theo off and then getting the twins in the car after their nap just to pick him up. How is that fair?"

Tony sighed and shrugged, "I guess it's not."

Gibbs gave him a "Ya think?" look before smiling at him. "I'm glad we agree."

While they hadn't been paying any attention, McGee had put Oliver down. Gibbs turned around to check on them and saw he wasn't there. "McGee? Where is Oliver?"

"Uh, he was…" McGee got a panicked look on his face. "He was right here… I… he…"

Gibbs held his hands up and said "What the hell were you thinking, McGee?" before he took off in search of the little boy. Tony and McGee both got up to help. Ziva stayed with Caroline.

They searched the entire floor for him while remaining calm. Just as Gibbs decided maybe he would start to panic a little, Ducky walked over holding Oliver and said "I believe you're looking for this one?"

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Gibbs thanked Ducky and took Oliver from him. Both he and Tony hugged and then scolded him about wandering off. A look of confusion came over Gibbs' face. "Was he down in _autopsy?_"

"Dear Heavens, no, I was up here talking to somebody about a case when I saw a familiar little lad walking around," Ducky said as he tickled Oliver who laughed and bounced in Gibbs' arms.

They went back to Tony's desk. Tony picked up the pictures and smiled. "Great picture, Caroline," he said before he put it down to look at the next one. "Oliver, this is the best, man." He put Oliver's down and looked at Gibbs' picture. Laughing, he said "You're funny. Really, Jethro, what a comedian."

Gibbs smiled and shrugged nonchalantly, "It comes naturally." Tony turned and tacked all three pictures up behind his desk.

They stayed a while longer and made sure to keep a close eye on Oliver. Then they had to leave so the twins could go down for their nap. While they napped, Gibbs went into the backyard to play with Gunny, give him some attention and wear him out. After about forty minutes of fetching and running around the yard, both Gibbs and Gunny went inside and sat on the couch. He sat petting Gunny as they cooled off and relaxed and soon realized he had dozed off when he heard Caroline crying for him on the baby monitor.

He ran upstairs and got her out of her crib, sitting in the rocking chair for a post-nap snuggle. She snuggled into him with her head against his chest. He rocked gently and rubbed her back, running his lips over the top of her head. She and Oliver so rarely sat still, Gibbs had to take what he could get in the cuddling department. They were very affectionate but could rarely take the time to really sit and snuggle.

Oliver was soon awake also and they went downstairs for a snack before they had to go outside and wait for Theo's bus.

When Theo got off the bus he looked tired and cranky. As they made their way inside, Gibbs asked him how the day went. Theo shrugged and didn't say anything.

"You want a snack?"

Theo shrugged again and Gibbs frowned. "What's wrong, baby?"

Theo said "Nothing" in a quiet, despondent tone.

Gibbs cut up an apple and gave him some peanut butter to dip it in. Sitting beside him at the table, he asked again how his first day was.

Theo sighed and said "I hated it."

"Hate isn't really a good word to use, buddy." Gibbs winced inwardly. If he and Tony were throwing that word around so casually that the kids picked up on it and used it, they needed to work on it and be more aware.

"What do I say then?"

"Don't like or dislike is better."

Theo nodded. "I didn't like it, Pop."

"What didn't you like about it?"

Theo shrugged and picked up a piece of apple. He took a bite and asked for a glass of water. With a quiet "sure," Gibbs got up to get him some water. Then he checked on the twins. Oliver was running around with a book on his head and Caroline was sitting on the coffee table, doing a puzzle and talking. Whether she was talking to Oliver or herself, Gibbs had no idea. But considering Oliver was talking as well, Gibbs thought it was safe to bet they were both talking to themselves. Their mouths never really stopped moving it seemed.

Tony got home early, before dinner time even. Both Gibbs and the kids were thrilled. After Tony goofed off with the kids for a while, Gibbs told him about Theo and what he had said.

Tony leaned back against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his chest. "What do we do then?"

"I'd like for him to talk about it. Beyond that, I don't think there's much we can do right now. It was only the first day." Gibbs walked over to him for a kiss. "Glad you could get home early," he said as he kissed him again.

From the other side of the kitchen, they heard "Why are you doing that?" Gibbs turned to see Theo standing there, scowling and looking upset.

"I was giving Dad a kiss. Nothing new there, huh?" He said with a smile that quickly faded when his little boy said "Mason from school said that two boys aren't supposed to be together and that it's bad." Mystery solved. It made sense now why Theo had been so quiet and had replied so negatively about school.

They all sat at the kitchen table together and Gibbs asked, "What do you think about it, Theo? Do you think it's bad that Daddy and I are together?"

Theo thought about it for a moment before he replied. "I don't think it's bad. You're my Papa and Daddy," he shrugged as if this explained everything. Gibbs smiled at him.

"I don't think it's bad either. But sadly, some people do. And sometimes people can say mean things. And I'm sure today won't be the last time you'll hear something like that. But it's up to you to decide if you'll let it bother you or not. I understand it might make you sad or angry and we can always talk about it. But sometimes you just have to decide that… ah, _I _know it's not bad and I know my Papa and Daddy love each other and they love me and _who cares_ what this person thinks."

Theo looked thoughtful and curious but didn't say anything.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Theo nodded and said "If I don't think it's bad then it doesn't matter if somebody else thinks it's bad because it doesn't matter what they think anyway."

Gibbs held his hand up and smiled. Theo put his hand against Gibbs'. "How did you get to be so big and smart?"

Theo grinned then got a curious look on his face again. "Papa… don't I have a Mama?"

Gibbs and Tony looked at each other. Tony answered him. "Well, you've got Papa and Daddy, boo."

"I know, but don't babies have to come from a mom?"

Gibbs nodded. Theo looked up at him, "Do I have the same Mama as Kelly?"

Gibbs felt a pang of something in his chest, pain or sadness he didn't know, maybe both. "No, baby, Shannon wasn't your Mama." He thought for a moment of how much they should tell Theo at his age and how exactly it should be explained. Tony gave him a look of trust and nodded, letting him know he supported and went with whatever Gibbs ended up saying.

"When Daddy and I had been together for a few years we decided we loved each other so much that we wanted to make our lives even better. We wanted to have a baby and to do that we had to find a very special lady to help us do it, someone who would… carry the baby in her belly for us until he was born and then we could bring him home. And then he'd have a Daddy and a Papa," Gibbs said with a smile.

Theo smiled brightly, "And that baby was me."

"That baby was you."

"Did you know right away that you loved me?"

Tony grinned, "We never doubted it for a second, buddy. The very minute we knew about you, we loved you."

"The minute I know about you and Papa, I loved you too," Theo said seriously then smiled. "I'm glad I have a Daddy and a Papa instead of a Mama."

"Good, we're glad that you're glad. Now are you ready to tell us about the good parts of kindergarten while we start dinner?"

Theo looked almost annoyed at first and then suddenly his face lit up excitedly. "I got to pet the class bunny today!"

"Get out of town," Tony said.

"No way," Theo said as he giggled.

Gibbs checked on the twins before he came back to start dinner. While he cooked he thought about the conversation they had just had. He had known things like this would come up, but it didn't make it any easier. He thought they had handled it okay. At least their boy had come away from it feeling good about everything and knowing that he was loved. This was one really hard conversation down; no doubt there was an infinite number to go.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Just wanted to make a quick note that the kids ages are probably going to start jumping a few years each chapter now. Just so you know :) And I'm in the process of working on chapter 28 but real life is hectic so I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to update again. My sincerest apologies! I'll work on it as much as possible, promise!**

**This is shorter than usual but it's a fun, lighthearted chapter so I hope you like. Reviews are appreciated and loved. Thanks!! Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Gibbs walked into the twins' classroom at preschool to pick them up. They were now four years old and in a preschool program at the same school that Theo had been at. Theo was now seven and in second grade. Today was early release at school so he would be picking the twins up and then hurrying back home to get Theo off the bus.

Tony would be leaving work soon to come home and surprise the kids. They had decided he should take the afternoon off and spend time with them. They would be so excited to see Dad walking in the door. Tony had gotten a lot better about getting home in the evenings but he still often worked straight through dinner time or at least right up until dinner time. That usually left a little time for playing or helping Theo with homework, bathtime, story, and bed. Having a day other than on the weekend to spend the afternoon with their Dad would be a real treat.

Gibbs walked to the twins' classroom and opened the door. Caroline ran over to him and he picked her up, kissing her cheek. Oliver continued what he was doing after a quick, "Hi Papa" in his direction.

The teacher, Miss Julia, came over with a smile. "Mr. Gibbs, these two have brightened our day as usual. They had a wonderful day."

Gibbs smiled. "That's always good to hear," he said as he began to gather their stuff. He glanced over at Oliver again who was still sitting and doing something. "Oliver, we have to go, bud. Theodore will be getting off the bus soon. Clean your stuff up and come on." He put Caroline down and put her backpack on her and took her hand. Oliver slowly put his stuff away and then started to talk to the boy near him. Gibbs sighed impatiently and said "Oliver, time to go. Now, please."

They finally made it to the car and Gibbs got them strapped in. They both began to talk about their day at once. Gibbs let them. Sometimes it was just easier to let them talk rather than trying to quiet one while the other got the spotlight for a few minutes.

When they got home and got Theo off the bus, he was his usual quiet self.

"How was your day, big man?" Gibbs asked him as they walked inside.

"Good," he said with a shrug. "I like early release days."

Just as they were about to walk in the front door, Tony's car pulled into the driveway, even earlier than he had been expecting. The kids all turned back and Gibbs said "Oh, what is this?" with a small smile. They all grinned up at him before running to Tony.

"You're home for the rest of the day, Daddy?" Caroline asked excitedly.

"I'm here for the rest of the day, baby girl," he answered her with a bright smile.

Theo was a little more reserved. He had always had the hardest time with Tony being gone so much. He regarded him with a wary look and asked, "How did you get to come home so early?"

"I took the afternoon off, boo. I'm going to hang out with you guys today."

"Promise?" Theo asked.

"I promise. I'm yours for the day."

Theo relaxed and grinned, putting his hand in Tony's as they walked to the house and finally made it inside.

"What do you guys want to do today?" Tony asked as he started to pull off his tie and get a little more comfortable.

"Can we watch a movie?" Oliver asked.

"No," Gibbs said immediately. TV and movies for the kids was a rare thing. Gibbs much preferred for them to be doing something more active.

"We could go to the park," Caroline suggested from across the room as she comforted her baby doll and patted its back. Oliver went over to her and said "Can I hold your baby?" She shook her head no and said "Not right now, she's very upset." Oliver pursed his lips and reached for the baby anyway. Caroline moved back and said "Stop it! Papa…"

"I've got a good idea," Tony interrupted. "Let's go play baseball."

"Yeah!" Theo yelled. Oliver and Caroline agreed quickly. Sometimes they liked to go to a park nearby that had baseball fields, a football field, a walking trail, and a playground to do one of the various activities there. They hadn't been in a while. They usually just went to the local park that only had a playground and walking trail.

"Cool, sounds like a plan then. Let me get out of these work clothes," Tony made his way to the stairs.

Gibbs gathered the baseballs and bats then loaded everything and everybody into the car and Tony soon joined them.

When they arrived at the park, there were only a few other people there and the baseball field was free to use.

The kids ran ahead while Tony and Gibbs walked at a more leisurely pace. When they made it there, Caroline yelled "I want to bat first!"

"Okay, Caroline's first," Gibbs said. "Who do you want to pitch for you, babe?"

"I want Daddy."

"Okay, Dad's pitching, I'm catching. Bean, you want to play the field until you bat?"

Theo nodded and ran out toward the bases. Oliver stayed off to the side and Caroline stepped up to the plate with a bat. Tony made his way toward the pitcher's mound to pitch for Caroline. Gibbs put his glove on and crouched down behind Caroline.

She glanced back at him and grinned. "Hi Papa," she said sweetly.

"Hello, sweet baby. Are you ready to hit the ball? Remember to keep your eyes on it."

"Ready, Pop," she told him as she brought the bat up. Tony stepped a little closer so he could give her a slower underhand pitch. She swung the bat a little late and missed. Gibbs tossed it back to Tony.

"Swing a little sooner and you'll get it," he advised her patiently.

Tony pitched again and Caroline swung too early. She looked back at him and said "Can you help me?"

Gibbs stood up, put his glove on the ground, and stepped up behind her, bending down and holding her hands in his on the bat. They did a few practice swings and then told Tony they were ready. He tossed the ball and Gibbs helped Caroline swing at the right time. The ball connected with the bat and went toward where Theo was standing between first and second bases.

"Run! Run!" Gibbs urged her quickly so she dropped the bat and took off. Theo was going for the ball and Gibbs signaled for him to let her get to first base without tagging her. She made it and jumped onto it, turning around with a proud grin.

"I think Caroline might just win," Tony said.

Theo said "My turn to bat! I want Papa to pitch."

He and Tony switched places. Theo gave him a serious look, "None of that baby stuff, okay Papa?"

Gibbs nodded and got ready for the pitch. He gave him a regular pitch but threw it at a semi-slower pace. Theo got it the first hit and took off running for first base while Caroline ran for second.

Oliver came up to the plate and tapped the bat on it. "Bring it, old man. Come on. I got this. Show me what you can do. Come on."

"You talk a lot of trash, little man, but can you follow through?"

"I got this. Throw me a pitch, come on."

Gibbs grinned. There was a cocky little mini-Tony standing there.

He threw the ball and Oliver missed. He didn't miss a beat though. The talk started back up immediately as he tapped the bat against the plate a few times. "Is that all you got? Give me your best. _If you can_."

Gibbs smirked and tossed the ball. Oliver hit it and took off running. Gibbs scooped the ball up and took off after him, touching his glove to his back before he could get to the base. Oliver laughed, "I was _so_ close!"

"Uh huh, next time you should learn to keep your mouth shut for a few minutes and then maybe I wouldn't have gotten that extra boost of energy to come after you."

Oliver cracked up and made his way back toward the side of the field. They played like this for quite a while. Then Theo said "You and Daddy hit the ball. We want to see you hit it far."

"Well, maybe one of us can hit one ball. I don't want to hit all of the balls too far and lose them."

Theo nodded. Caroline said "You hit the ball, Papa. We want to see a homerun."

Gibbs shrugged. "Okay, but you guys have to stay behind the gate, in the dugout. I don't want you to be out here when Daddy throws the ball fast."

They complied quickly and ran for the gated box. Gibbs stepped up to the plate and Tony grinned at him. "Are _you_ going to talk trash? Come on, talk some trash."

Gibbs laughed, "Just throw the ball."

"You sure you can hit my pitches?"

"Well, I have before."

"Yeah, we'll see. You _might _be able to. I'll try not to throw it too fast for you," Tony bragged.

"You and Oliver just have it in for me don't you? Maybe you should throw the ball before I come over there."

Tony grinned and nodded that he was going to. He showed no mercy, throwing the ball as fast as he could. Gibbs, and probably the kids, preferred it that way. He swung the bat and it smacked the ball. It easily went over the fence and flew into the woods that were behind this particular field. The kids were yelling from the dugout.

"Run the bases, Pop!" Theo yelled.

Gibbs snorted and tossed the bat down, making his way for first base at a jog. When Tony laughed loudly at him, he sped up a little as he glared at him.

As he made it to home plate, the kids ran out and joined him there. They all high-fived and Tony made his way over. Grinning, he put his arm around Gibbs and pulled him over, kissing the side of his head. "Not bad. For an old man," he said quietly against his ear.

Gibbs glanced at him and smiled. "Not bad yourself. Say, you wouldn't be going a little thin back here would you?" Gibbs asked as he touched the top of his own head toward the back where it was well known by them that Tony's hair was starting to thin some.

Tony smiled at him sweetly, "Say, you wouldn't be going a little soft around the middle here would you?" he asked as he patted Gibbs's stomach.

Gibbs laughed and said "Possibly, but consider my age and consider yours, DiNozzo."

The smile left Tony's face and he looked at Gibbs with narrowed eyes. "You've got me there, Jethro," he said as he patted Gibbs on the back, admitting defeat.

The kids were having a great time. Theo was chasing Caroline around and Oliver was dancing around and talking loudly to his brother and sister. Then the phone on Tony's belt rang. Everybody stopped. Theo groaned and looked like he might throw a tantrum. Oliver and Caroline watched him with big, sad eyes. Tony looked really torn. He stared back at them for a moment before reaching for the phone. Gibbs could admit that his heart sank a little.

Tony pulled the phone off the clip and opened it. Then he stopped the call without answering, turned off the phone and put it back on the clip. He looked up with a smile. "What? No trust for Dad?"

Oliver laughed and ran at Tony. Tony picked him up and spun him around really fast making him laugh harder and yell "Again!"

Caroline grinned and said "This is my favorite day."

Theo said "It's one of my favorite days too."

"Why is that?" Gibbs asked with a smile.

"Because we all got to be together on a day during the week and we played baseball and Dad didn't even answer his phone!" Theo told him.

Gibbs thought it was kind of sad that Dad not answering his phone was part of the reason it was one of the best days, but he had to agree; today had been a really great day and he had enjoyed every minute of being with his family.


	28. Chapter 28

**I'm really, really sorry about the crazy long delay. I had a very hard time writing this chapter, plus I had real life to deal with, so it took me a lot longer than I expected. I hope you're able to enjoy it. As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.  
**

Gibbs was in the middle of loading the car when his cell phone rang. Tony was calling to tell him that he and Abby would be a few minutes later than they had expected. Gibbs told him that was fine and hung up. He and Tony were heading out of town for their anniversary. It would be the first time they had ever gone out of town without the kids and left them with someone else. They were only driving a couple of hours into Virginia though so they wouldn't be very far.

He went back inside where his children were sitting at the dinner table. Oliver and Caroline were squabbling about something and Theo had his head resting on his hand in boredom. Sitting down in his seat, he said "Hey, listen up. We're going over the rules one more time. Oliver, tell me a rule," he looked at his younger son.

Oliver pursed his lips, thinking hard. Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment. He knew this was a bad idea leaving them with someone else. They were difficult on the best of days. Oliver shrugged, "We'll be good, Papa. You don't have to repeat the rules again."

He doubted it.

Theo was now ten years old. He was as stubborn as ever and had the supreme pre-teen attitude to go with it. Everything was an argument with him. Gibbs felt that the majority of his time was spent at odds with his eldest boy. He was a quiet, serious child and had little patience for being told what to do. Since he was a small child he had been extremely interested in music and in the last year had begun guitar lessons. It was one of the few things that really made him happy.

Oliver, seven years old, was the complete opposite of his elder brother. He was loud, energetic, and all over the place. Gibbs and Tony found it next to impossible to get him to sit still for even a few minutes. He loved to laugh and to make others laugh. He always had a joke to tell. He was a happy, go-with-the-flow boy but his mischievousness knew no bounds.

Caroline was a completely independent, unique little person. She could play ball with the best of them or she could take care of her baby dolls with sweet, gentle hands. She was as rough and tumble as her brothers but she loved anything pink and girly. She had taken an interest in ballet and had been in a program for the past two years. Her second recital was coming up soon and she was very excited about it.

Gibbs looked over at Theo. "If I find out that you've had an attitude this weekend, I'm not going to be happy at all. Are we clear?"

Theo clenched his jaw before nodding in agreement. "I'm done," he announced before taking his plate to the sink. Oliver quickly followed suit and Caroline remained at the table, taking her time with her dinner.

"Are you excited that Aunt Abby is coming to stay with you this weekend?" Gibbs asked her.

She picked at her food with her fingers and popped some diced tomato into her mouth. "Yep, I think it's going to be so cool to have another girl in the house," she said with a grin. Gibbs grinned back at her. She had absolutely no problems being the only girl in a house full of boys but she would no doubt love having another female around for the weekend.

He stayed with her until she finished eating. She took her plate to the sink and threw over her shoulder, "Come on, Papa," as she walked toward the living room.

When he walked into the living room, he found Theo lounging on the couch with his guitar and a music book. Oliver was sitting on the floor beside Gunny, tugging on a toy that was clenched tightly his mouth, and he was growling loudly at the dog. When he came to sit on the couch beside Theo, Gibbs noticed he was struggling to breathe.

"Need to do your inhaler, bud?" Gibbs asked him. Oliver had been diagnosed with asthma a couple of years ago and had both a nebulizer that was used to give breathing treatments and an inhaler which he used if he was having an attack. He had been required to do a breathing treatment almost every night for close to two years and they had recently been told they could do it as needed. His case of asthma was pretty severe and he still often needed the breathing treatments and the use of his inhaler.

Oliver shook his head no even as he fought to pull in a breath. "I think so," Gibbs said softly as he pulled him over to him and rubbed his back gently. Oliver threw his head back and whined in protest. He avoided the inhaler at all costs, it seemed. He said it made him feel shaky and he didn't like it.

"I'm okay, Papa," he said as he coughed and sucked in a deep breath. Gibbs listened to him breathing and shook his head. "You're wheezing, Oliver. Let's do a breathing treatment before Abs gets here."

As he was getting the nebulizer ready, Oliver burst into tears. Oliver hardly ever cried so Gibbs was taken by surprise. "What is this? What's wrong?"

Breath hitching, big tears pouring down his face, Oliver wailed "I don't want to do any more breathing treatments!"

Gibbs sat on the floor and pulled Oliver over and down onto his lap. He continued to cry but didn't protest sitting on his lap. Gibbs put the mask over Oliver's face and turned the nebulizer on. They sat there together as Oliver breathed in the mist of medicine and Gibbs stroked a hand through his hair, soothing his younger son.

Tony and Abby walked in the door and Caroline ran to her dad for a hug. He bent down and pressed kisses all over her face, making her giggle. He stood up and looked down at Gibbs and Oliver on the floor. "Not good?" he asked, referring to his breathing.

"Not good, but not as bad as it's been before."

Tony nodded and said "Make yourself at home, Abby."

Abby put her bag down by the door and sat on the couch beside Theo. He smiled at her and nodded a hello in her direction. Caroline immediately went to sit in her lap. Tony ran upstairs to change out of his work clothes.

"How's it going, Abby?" Gibbs asked, moving the little elbow that was digging painfully into his thigh.

She smiled brightly and pulled Caroline into a hug. "Great, Gibbs. I'm excited to be staying with my babies this weekend."

Theo grinned at her, "Babies?" Abby grinned back, "You may be getting big, Mister, but you'll always be my baby."

"I second that," Tony said as he walked back into the room and leaned down to kiss Theo's cheek. Theo grimaced slightly. Tony plopped down beside him on the couch and pulled him over so he could sit with his arm around his shoulders.

Oliver's breathing treatment was done so Gibbs turned it off. Oliver continued to sit in his lap, leaning back against his chest.

"Since it's the weekend, they can stay up a little later. We typically try to get the twins to bed by 9:30 or so and Theo no later than 10:00. They're not supposed to leave their rooms unless it's to go to the bathroom. Right, guys?" Gibbs asked his children. There were nods all around. "Because beyond that, they're just looking for a reason not to go to bed. They can watch a few movies this weekend. Their movies are on these shelves."

Abby nodded and said "Got it."

"Be prepared to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. That's one of the only movies they've watched for at least a month now," he rolled his eyes. "Oliver's inhaler is in the kitchen. There are some instructions or guidelines written out beside it. He should be okay after the breathing treatment though. Huh, bud?" Gibbs nudged Oliver who nodded.

He and Tony pointed a few more things out to Abby and then decided it was time to get going. Theo gave them each a quick hug, a quiet "love you," and a short "have fun." Caroline had Tony pick her up and she wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him; he held her just as tightly against him. She pressed a ten second kiss to his cheek before announcing, "Papa's turn!"

Tony handed her over and Gibbs hugged her then put her down. Kneeling down, he pulled Oliver close and kissed the side of his head. Oliver bounced around in his arms before kissing Gibbs all over his face. Chuckling, Gibbs stood up and went to Abby, pressing a simultaneous "thank you" and "goodbye" kiss on her cheek which she happily accepted.

He turned to look at his children. Oliver was talking at lightning speed to Abby, Theo was between them, glaring in annoyance, and Caroline was standing on the other side of Oliver, jumping on the couch.

"Behave. Be nice and don't drive Abs too crazy. Have fun; we love you!" Gibbs said as they walked out the door.

As they drove, Gibbs sent a silent prayer up that their kids wouldn't be holy terrors while they were away. They had a way of draining a person. He didn't think they did it on purpose. The twins didn't, for sure. They were just naturally really high energy kids. He wondered about Theo sometimes. It was his personality, of course, to be difficult. But sometimes it seemed he _tried_ to make things complicated. Gibbs just hoped they would all behave for Abby.

A hand made its way to his thigh and his lips quirked into a grin. "Don't even think about it, DiNozzo."

"Oh come on. Why not?"

"I'm too old to have sex in a car." He briefly rolled his eyes.

"You're only as old as you feel," Tony said, innocently.

"I feel really old," Gibbs said and got a laugh in reply. Chuckling, he reached for Tony's hand and linked their fingers as he drove.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Theo glanced at his brother with a scowl. Kid never stopped talking. Caroline never stopped talking either but he didn't find her quite as annoying for some reason. Maybe because she was a sweet little girl and her nonstop talking was usually about something adorable. Oliver was just a pain in the butt most of the time. Or at least that's how Theo felt. Papa and Dad seemed to think Oliver was pretty darn cute and funny.

Well, maybe he wasn't a complete pain in the butt. Theo had to admit that he made him laugh quite a bit and, while he could be a nuisance, he was always one of the first people to offer to help with something or show concern for someone. He and Caroline had that natural want or need to care about others. So maybe it wasn't the end of the world that they talked at all times. Theo thought maybe he could forgive them that. But, it _was_ still his job as big brother to let them know they were being annoying.

Theo played a few notes on his guitar. His guitar was one of his favorite things. He wanted to be a famous guitarist one day. Oliver sometimes laughed when he said that but Dad and Papa always encouraged him that if he put his mind to it he could do or be anything he wanted. And right now he knew he wanted to play the guitar.

He played a few more notes. Oliver stopped mid-sentence and looked at him. "Play a song, Theo!"

He shrugged and shook his head. Oliver gave him a disappointed look and began talking again to Aunt Abby. Caroline came over and leaned against Theo's legs. "Can I play your guitar, please, Theo?"

"I don't think so, Sweet Caroline, sorry."

"Please? You never let us play it," she said with a well practiced pouty lip.

That wasn't entirely true. Most of the time he didn't let them anywhere near his guitar but there had been times he had let them strum a few notes. She couldn't honestly say that he had _never _let them play it.

"You'll live," Theo told her.

Caroline left and went off in search of something, probably a baby doll. Oliver was dancing around in front of the couch, still talking.

"Dad and Papa watch Family Guy; can we watch Family Guy?" Oliver asked Aunt Abby.

"I don't think so," she said with a smirk.

"They probably wouldn't mind," Theo added.

"Honey, your parents don't even let you watch _Spongebob. _So I know they'd never let you watch Family Guy. Papa watches Family Guy?" Abby asked with a very skeptical look on her face.

Oliver nodded. "Yes, and Dad always tells Papa that he laughs his butt off at it. Only he doesn't say butt. And Papa always says he _does not_ laugh his butt off at it. Only he doesn't say butt either. And then they argue about that for a while and it always ends with Papa growling."

Aunt Abby laughed at that image. It was pretty funny, Theo had to admit.

Caroline came back and, with her baby, sat at the coffee table to draw or write a story. She looked over at them curiously. "What do you think Papa and Daddy will be doing this weekend?"

"They're being _romantic_, of course," Oliver said.

"Like you even know what romance is," Theo snorted.

"Like _you_ know what romance is," Oliver retorted.

With a roll of his eyes and a mumbled "whatever" Theo got up and headed for his room. He heard Oliver saying, "Theo is _so_ moody!" to Aunt Abby. He shrugged to himself; so what if he was a little moody sometimes, it's not like it was the worst thing in the world to be moody. At least he wasn't constantly jumping around, talking loudly, and being generally annoying.

He went into his bedroom and put in a Bruce Springsteen CD, turning it on low. He was just starting to relax, looking through a music magazine, when his door flew open and Oliver came barreling in. He charged over and jumped onto the bed beside him, crushing and bending his magazine.

"Oliver, get out!" Theo yelled furiously.

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to land on your magazine!" Oliver said hurriedly, with big pleading eyes.

"I don't care. Get out now!" Theo yelled again as he pulled his brother out into the hallway. He slammed the door really hard. Papa and Dad really didn't like it when he did that. Sometimes Dad would say "Slam it again and see what happens!" Theo did occasionally wonder what would happen but he didn't test it out to see.

A few seconds later there was a soft knock on his door. "Yeah?" he answered. The door opened and Aunt Abby peeked her head in.

"What's going on?"

"Oliver was in my room, messing my stuff up as usual. So I told him to get out." Theo shrugged.

"Little brothers do that sometimes, huh?" Abby said with a sympathetic look on her face. Theo nodded in agreement. She gave him a hug, "Maybe next time you should ask him nicely to get out and then come get me if he won't. I doubt Papa and Dad would appreciate you slamming the door."

Theo shrugged again. "Sure, Aunt Abby," he smiled at her and he got a smile in return. She left his room and he went back to reading his now crumpled magazine. He got about five minutes of peace before he heard "Theo Bean?" at the door.

"Caroline?" he answered back. She opened the door and came in. She sat on the bed beside him and looked over, "Want to come play in Papa and Daddy's room with me and Oliver? We're playing dress up."

They had always loved to sneak into their parents' room and dress up in their clothes and play. The room usually ended up looking like a hurricane had blown through, with clothes thrown everywhere, but they had always had a blast doing it. Theo felt like he was getting too big to play dress up though. He was ten now, not a little kid anymore. Playing dress up was for little kids. He decided it couldn't hurt to do it one more time though, so he agreed and went with her.

Oliver already had on a pair of Papa's khaki shorts with a belt wound around his waist and a gray polo shirt that was much too big. He was searching through the closet for something and finally grabbed an NCIS hat and put it on his head; it was also too big and tipped forward.

Caroline made her way to the closet and pulled another one of Papa's polo shirts down and put it on. She grabbed one of his jackets and put it on. It seemed to swallow her whole. She went to the dresser and grabbed a pair of shorts like Oliver had on.

Theo pulled down one of Dad's dress shirts, put it on and buttoned it. He grabbed a tie and hung it loosely around his neck so that it hung down either side of his body. He pulled on a pair of his dress pants that were so long on him it was comical.

"I'm Papa!" Oliver yelled.

"I'm Dad," Theo called next.

Caroline put her hands on her hips. "Who should I be then?"

"You can be… Uncle Ducky," Oliver suggested. Caroline glared at him. He smiled and said in some sort of British or Scottish accent, Theo wasn't sure what it was, "You can talk like this. Hello, my name is Ducky. What is your name? You are quite a dashing young fellow."

Caroline giggled and Theo laughed. "Uncle Ducky does not talk like that, idiot," he told him.

Still talking in that accent, he said "I resentthe accusation!"

"Of what?" Theo asked in confusion.

"Of being an idiot, you moron!"

Caroline was doubled over in laughter at this point. Oliver said, "Or you could be Probie and talk about things nobody understands."

"I could be Ziva!"

"No you couldn't. You're a boy," he said seriously before his eyes widened and he giggled hysterically. Then he shrugged. "Well you're dressed in boy clothes anyway. You can't be Aunt Ziva if you're wearing Papa's clothes. And you can't put your clothes back on or it won't be dress up."

Caroline looked thoroughly depressed at this and was pouting. To head off any arguments or whining, Theo suggested "You be a bad guy… dressed in Papa's clothes…" he said in a slow, uncertain voice that made Oliver laugh. "And we'll be, you know, Agent Gibbs and Agent DiNozzo and we'll catch you, because we're good like that."

They all agreed it was a good idea.

Suddenly the door opened and Oliver screamed which made Theo scream which made Caroline giggle.

"Um, hi," Abby looked in cautiously before her face lit up in excitement at what they were doing. Theo felt his face starting to turn bright red. He didn't mind Papa and Dad finding them like this, they often did. He didn't especially want anybody else to see though. "Papa's on the phone," she said as she held it up. She turned it on speaker phone and put it on the bed.

"What's all the screaming about?" Papa asked.

"Hi Papa!" Caroline said.

"Hi baby girl. What's going on there? Are you three behaving?"

"We're playing dress up," Oliver answered.

"Yeah? That's always fun. Just be sure to put everything back when you're done, please."

"How is your anniversary going?" Oliver asked.

"It's good. We just got to the hotel a few minutes ago, Dad took a shower, and we're about to hit the bed because I'm tired and my back hurts," he answered. He really did sound tired, Theo thought.

"Are you going to be smooching?" was Oliver's next question.

Papa snorted. "We might give a goodnight smooch. Enough about us though, you guys having fun?"

Dad came into the room at that moment, telling Papa to put it on speaker phone so they could all talk.

"We're having fun, Papa. I'm going to be a bad guy and the agents are going to catch me," Caroline piped up. Theo rolled his eyes; she would have to tell every little detail of their embarrassing game.

"That sounds like fun. What about you Little Bean? Are you having fun?" Papa asked.

Theo rolled his eyes again even though Papa and Dad couldn't see. "Are you guys going to call me that for the rest of my life?"

"Probably so, get used to it. You're our Bean. Little Bean. Theo Bean…" he answered.

"Baby Bean," Dad added.

"Lovey Bean," Caroline piped up.

"String Bean," Oliver said with a grin. That one got chuckles from everybody. He couldn't believe that nickname had stuck for so long. It didn't really bother him. He even kind of liked that he had had his own special name for so long. It was just an issue of, again, his age. But at least they tried to never call him that in front of anyone else, besides the "team" because they called him that sometimes too.

They all talked for a few more minutes about nothing in particular before they said goodnight with reminders to brush their teeth and do as Aunt Abby says. Abby spoke to them a few more minutes off of the speaker phone before she hung up. She told them they had about thirty minutes until it was time to get ready for bed and left them to play. Theo had a feeling she probably would have loved to join them but figured this was kind of their game.

They ended up getting pretty rowdy, running around the entire upstairs, yelling and screaming, and making a big ruckus.

When they captured Caroline, Oliver yelled "Freeze! Put your hands in the air!" and then started chanting "Put your hands in the air" as he danced around and shook his butt. Theo snickered. "If Papa ever danced like that I think I'd be laughing for the rest of my life. For real."

Oliver ended up getting really out of breath again and started coughing a lot. But he begged Theo and Caroline not to mention it to Abby so he wouldn't have to do his inhaler or another breathing treatment. Theo made him sit down and rest. They had ended up in Theo's room and they all lounged on his bed. Oliver continued to cough and breathe weird. Theo rubbed his back for a moment to try to soothe him some. He didn't want the little guy to suffer, no matter how much he got on his nerves sometimes.

Abby soon came up and let them know it was time for bed. They all changed into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, stories were read, and foreheads were kissed. Sometimes Theo preferred to read his own story and sometimes he still liked to sit in with the twins' story.

Theo lay in bed for a while, tossed and turned as usual, and finally began to doze a little. But he couldn't fall asleep. He got up and made his way to Oliver and Caroline's room, opened the door and snuck in quietly. They were both, surprisingly, asleep already. Theo walked over to Oliver's bed and pulled the covers up a little, crawling in beside him. Oliver's eyes opened briefly and he smiled lazily over at him before falling back asleep.

Theo snuggled down and got comfortable. Sometimes he liked to come in here and sleep with them, especially on nights he had more trouble falling asleep than usual. Just as he was finally drifting off, the door opened. He lifted his head and saw Abby at the door. She walked over and whispered "Shouldn't you be in your own bed, honey?"

Theo shook his head. "I can sleep in here, it's okay."

"Papa said you weren't supposed to leave your room though."

"Really, I can sleep in here. It's no big deal," Theo assured her.

She bit her lip, looking unsure. Papa _had_ told her they weren't supposed to leave their rooms and Theo knew she would always listen to what Papa said.

"I don't know, buddy."

Theo felt anger course through his body. She didn't know what he could and couldn't do. It wasn't fair that he was allowed to sleep in here and she was making an issue of it. He loved Aunt Abby to pieces but right now he wasn't very happy. He threw the covers back and got out of the bed with a glare.

"Well if you're going to make a big deal of it, I'll just go back to my room," he said, his voice dripping with irritation and resentment. She walked out with him and in his anger he slammed the door behind him then winced inwardly at what he had done.

"Theo," Abby said, a mix of wanting to sound both stern and apologetic.

He continued to glare, looking down at the floor. Instead of answering her, he walked to his bedroom and half slammed that door too. He wasn't sure what had come over him; he was really asking for it with Papa and Dad if Abby told them about this. He was just angry. He knew he could sleep in there and Aunt Abby didn't believe him. If Dad and Papa had been home, this wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have lost his temper and gotten an attitude. Now he would surely be in trouble for this.

It took even longer for him to fall asleep because not only was his body tossing and turning but his mind was all over the place too. When he woke the next morning he felt extremely grumpy and made his way downstairs with a glare stuck on his face.

Oliver and Caroline were at the table eating breakfast. Oliver was bouncing in his chair as usual and Caroline was talking animatedly about something with Abby. Theo sat in his chair, tense and angry. He thought he should probably just skip breakfast and get out of the room because he could already feel his mouth and brain working toward something awful to say.

Oliver's hyper movements continued and he began to talk about one of his toys, tapping on Theo's shoulder when he didn't respond.

"Shut _up_, Oliver!" Theo yelled. Oliver's eyes momentarily grew wide before he shrugged and quietly went back to his breakfast. Great, now he had hurt his feelings and that was not an easy thing to do; Oliver rarely took things to heart. As he began to feel guilty, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and Abby nodded her head in the direction of the living room. He sighed and followed.

"Is this about last night?" she asked him.

Theo thought about it. That had probably set his mood off but he didn't really think that was why he was still upset. He shrugged, "No."

"Then what's going on?" She tilted her head a little, looking into his eyes. He shifted his gaze away from her and said "I'm just tired, Aunt Abby. I didn't sleep very good last night." Before she could say anything else on the subject, because he really disliked talking about things with anybody but Papa and Dad and sometimes not even them, he quickly sidetracked. "What are we doing today?"

"Uncle Probie might be coming over to hang out with us for a while. We thought we might go out for lunch. What do you think?"

Theo shrugged and didn't answer. They didn't eat out much. Theo thought Papa and Dad found it really difficult dealing with them in restaurants. Almost every time they went out to eat, Papa would make Oliver look at him and say "You will not stand in your chair. You will not yell across the table. You will not be wild. You _will _act right." Then basically the same would be said to Caroline. Theo sometimes got a "don't make an issue of everything" speech. And naturally, when they got to the restaurant, Oliver would be wild, Caroline would step it up a notch and be even more on Oliver's level of hyper, and something inside Theo made him want to make an issue of _everything_. They had never done well with eating out; it had become a well known fact. It also didn't help that ninety percent of the time they ate out, someone would knock over a drink. And said drink would almost always land on Papa or Dad.

Theo wasn't sure what it was that made them go crazy at restaurants. One thing was for sure though; if Papa and Dad had a hard time maintaining control there was no way Abby and Probie could do it.

The rest of the morning went without incident. Theo played with Oliver and Caroline for a while, practiced playing his guitar, and loved on Gunny some. When Uncle Probie arrived, they got in the car and headed for lunch at a sandwich place.

Oliver immediately ran off somewhere and couldn't be found. Abby was nearly in a panic. "Oliver Gibbs, your daddies are going to _kill _me," Theo heard her mumble as she frantically looked around the crowded room.

When they finally found him, Abby's nerves were so rattled Theo thought she might have a breakdown right there in the restaurant. She was so distracted after Oliver going missing that she didn't even notice Caroline talking to some man.

Papa and Dad had had plenty of talks about not talking to strangers with them but Oliver and Caroline were such social children it was more difficult for them to follow that one. Theo often saw how much this stressed and worried their parents, the fact that the twins couldn't seem to help themselves talking to complete strangers.

"Caroline! Come here, sweetie," Aunt Abby said as she waved her closer. Caroline smiled at the man and waved as she made her way back over. "Don't you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers?" Abby scolded, with her hands on her hips and a disappointed look on her face.

Caroline looked up at her innocently. "Aunt Abby, it's okay. He was really nice."

Theo cut in, "Caroline, Papa and Daddy have told you a million times that just because some man is really nice doesn't mean you can or should go off and talk to him." Caroline pursed her lips and Theo continued. "Do you want to get kidnapped and taken away from us forever?"

She shook her head no.

"Then stop talking to strangers!" Theo said forcefully, his face near hers. She bit her lip and then nodded.

"Okay, Theodore. I'll stop."

Lunch turned out to be eventful as usual. There was no more escaping or talking to strangers, but there was wildness from the twins and attitude from Theo. Both Probie and Abby were fairly frazzled by the time they left and decided maybe eating out was better left for when Papa and Dad were home.

When Papa and Dad got home the next evening, Oliver immediately jumped on Dad, Caroline went to Papa to be picked up, and Theo alternated between clinging to both of them. Once they had all had their fill of snuggles and love, Papa and Dad sat down to talk with Abby. Theo heard her explaining the situation when Theo went into Oliver and Caroline's room.

"I'm sorry, Abs," he heard Papa say. "He _does_ sleep in there sometimes. He crawled into bed with us until he was… I don't know, eight at least, and we finally had to tell him he was getting too big to sleep in our bed anymore. So he goes in there instead and crawls into bed with Oliver every now and then. We should have mentioned that. But you were in the right with this one. I did tell you they shouldn't leave their rooms and you were only doing as I asked. We'll have a talk with him about the attitude. I already warned him about that."

They all talked for a while more, about the lunch incidents, Theo's attitude, and overall how the weekend went. Soon Aunt Abby was getting ready to leave and hugs were given by all. As his parents were about to walk her out the door, Papa turned and looked down at Theo and said in a low voice, "Upstairs _now_. Go sit on my bed and don't move."

Yep, the attitude had come back to kick his butt as usual. He was in big trouble.


	29. Chapter 29

**I apologize for the delay! The good news is I have two more chapters ready to upload after this so I should be doing that over the next few days. Thanks to everyone who is sticking with the story! Reviews would be appreciated, loved, and adored. :) Enjoy!**

Summer break was Hell, Gibbs decided. School could not come fast enough. It was impossible to keep the kids busy enough to stay out of trouble, and trying to do so only wore Gibbs out to the point of exhaustion.

They were at the table eating breakfast before Tony left for work. He couldn't even hope for them to sleep in a little. Without fail, they woke up no later than 7:00 in the morning. It made for a really long day.

Tony was standing at the counter, inhaling his breakfast and talking to the kids at the same time.

Theo looked over at Oliver and tapped his arm. "Do you like seafood?" Gibbs snorted and shook his head. _Here we go_, he thought.

Oliver looked suspicious and curious all at once. "I guess so," he answered hesitantly, unsure why his brother was asking such a strange question early in the morning.

Theo opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out, showing his chewed up food. "See… food."

Tony snickered. "That one never gets old." Gibbs grinned. Tony _would_ find that one amusing.

Oliver laughed. "Good one, Theodore. Can I do it?"

"No, stupid, I just did it. It wouldn't be funny right after someone else did it," Theo said with a glare.

"_Stupid? _Who are you calling stupid? Me?" Oliver questioned.

"I'm _looking_ at you," Theo answered.

Caroline straightened up in her seat. "I kind of think you're both idiots," she said with a bright smile.

Gibbs shook his head. They were all big into name calling these days. Tony was far from helpful to Gibbs and usually quite encouraging with the kids which, of course, only reinforced such behavior. It wasn't that he never disciplined the kids. He had his moments; he could even be more of a disciplinarian about some things than Gibbs was. But name calling was not one of them.

Before anymore could be said, Gibbs interrupted "When you're done eating go brush your teeth and get dressed. I need to go to the post office and then I think we'll make a run to the library. If you guys can behave, that is. The minute you start acting up, we're out of there. You have to be quiet at the library. I know that word isn't in your vocabulary but give it a chance."

Tony came over to stand behind him. He bent down and rested his mouth against the top of Gibbs' head for a minute, pressed a kiss to his cheek, turned his head and kissed him full on the mouth. Oliver made a gagging noise and Theo snorted a laugh. Tony went around the table and kissed the kids before he went toward the living room to leave. He turned back around. "Everybody be good today. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That pretty much leaves everything, Tony. You should narrow the list a little."

He grinned. "Don't do anything Papa wouldn't do."

"That's a _little_ better," Gibbs said with a smirk. Tony blew him a kiss which made Gibbs smile and roll his eyes.

"I love you guys; I'll see you this evening," he said with a wave.

They all told him they loved him and went back to their breakfast as he left. He peeked back in a second later. "Jethro? Walk me out?"

Gibbs got up and followed him to the front door where Tony stopped him and pressed his mouth against his again. They kissed for several minutes, Tony's hand on the back of his head and Gibbs' hands on Tony's waist. When they pulled apart, Tony rested his forehead against Gibbs' and grinned.

"You should send the kids outside to play or something."

Gibbs chuckled. "It's barely light outside. We'll have to wait until tonight when they're in bed."

There was a pouty mouth, begging to be kissed. "Tonight is so far away."

"It'll be worth it. We'll make sure of that," Gibbs said as he lightly slapped Tony on the butt. They were moving in for another kiss when they heard "Papa! Theodore stole my blueberries!"

Tony huffed a laugh. "Little ones call."

Gibbs nodded, placed a quick kiss to Tony's lips before turning to go.

"Tell Theodore I said not to steal Sweet Caroline's blueberries anymore or I'm going to kiss him in front of all of his friends and call him my sweet Little Bean." He grinned mischievously at that before it turned into a softer smile. "I love you, baby. See you tonight."

"I love you too. See you later." Gibbs grinned at the pet name as he walked back to the kitchen. They didn't use mushy pet names often but it wasn't unheard of either. It was never anything like "sweetie" or "honey" but sometimes they used "baby" or "babe." It usually made Gibbs smile when Tony used one of the terms of endearment.

He walked into the kitchen and said "Plates in the sink when you're done and go get dressed."

They had put their plates away and thirty minutes later they still hadn't gotten dressed. Oliver had on a pair of Theo's shorts that Tony had mistakenly put in Oliver's dresser. He was walking around with no shirt on and the shorts falling off. Theo managed to put shorts and a shirt on but couldn't find his shoes. Caroline refused to settle on one outfit and was throwing things aside for something new, mismatching things and checking herself in the bathroom mirror.

Oliver finally grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it on but refused to change out of the shorts so every time he ran they fell down around his knees. After about ten minutes, Gibbs finally got him to put on a pair of his own shorts. Caroline settled on a tank top worn over a white tee shirt and a pink skirt. She was very particular about her clothes. She had her own unique style and if an outfit wasn't to her exact liking, she would not wear it. It made for long, frustrating mornings when getting ready to go somewhere.

Gibbs helped her get her hair brushed and was about to help Theo find his shoes when Oliver came out of the bathroom with his hair spiked up and a pair of Tony's sunglasses on.

"How do I look, Pop?"

Gibbs held the chuckle at bay. "You look handsome. Very nice."

"No, Papa. Say something cool. Say 'you are _good looking,_ Oliver' or 'you are such a cool guy.' Something like that," Oliver said.

"You are _good looking_, Oliver. You are one cool dude. I wish I was half as cool as you are."

Oliver nodded in agreement and made his way downstairs. Gibbs grinned and shook his head. He absolutely loved their self-confidence and love of themselves.

Somehow he finally got them out the door and into the car, though it was no easy task and there were many distractions and stops between the front door and the car. In the car, Oliver insisted on rolling his window down and sticking his head out to the point Gibbs had to roll it up and lock it so he couldn't roll it back down. Then he proceeded to tap a tune on the window until Theo yelled at him to "shut up already!" and Gibbs asked him nicely to "stop please" before snapping a firm "Cut it out, Oliver."

Caroline began a long-winded tale that Gibbs feared would never end. He did love hearing what she had to say or stories she had to tell but sometimes, on particularly crazy days, it was hard to focus on the nonstop talk. He listened somewhat half-heartedly and replied with an occasional "hmmm" or "really?" to her story.

By the time they got to the post office it was packed full, exactly what Gibbs had been avoiding. Standing in line was like torture. Oliver couldn't stand still for two seconds and Gibbs had to constantly pull him against him to keep him from bumping other people. Caroline felt the need to make conversation with the lady in front of them, not realizing the lady wasn't as keen on making small talk with an eight year old as Caroline was with talking to her.

The third time Oliver broke away and ran over to all of the envelopes and various postage supplies, after sending Theo to drag him back over, Gibbs got down in his face and said in a low voice "If you leave my side one more time, you will be in a timeout nightmare, do you understand me?" For someone like Oliver, who constantly needed to move and talk, timeout was a punishment from hell.

"I understand, Papa. Sorry," he said sincerely. He was still continuously moving but he did stay by Gibbs' side as asked.

He kind of dreaded the trip to the library. They were being particularly wild today. But he needed to get them out of the house before he went crazy and bringing a few books home would be a good idea. He figured there might also be some sort of story time or activity going on that they could attend.

Oliver immediately darted away to run for the entrance. He only got a few feet before Gibbs grabbed his arm and turned him around. "_What_ did I tell you about looking both ways?" he raised his voice. "Do it again and you can hold my hand like a little baby." Oliver made an _uh-oh_ face and didn't comment, choosing instead to walk calmly beside Gibbs.

It turned out not to be so bad in the beginning. They got there in time to listen to a story and Gibbs only had to shush his kids three times while it was being told. He felt like that was pretty good for them. Then they went in search of books. Gibbs stayed with the twins to keep a closer eye on them. Theo went his own way to look for something he might like to bring home.

As he was helping Caroline find some books she might like, Oliver slipped away in search of his brother. Gibbs let it go and didn't stop him. However, when he saw his younger son running almost full speed across the library, soon followed by his brother, Gibbs went after them. He didn't mind them acting like wild monkeys at home- he couldn't imagine it any other way, but he did expect them to behave and act somewhat civilized in public.

He found them in a corner, Oliver breathing heavily and trying desperately not to laugh.

"Oliver, look at me." He looked at him then was distracted by Theo. Gibbs held his chin gently and forced him to look up at him. "This is your only warning. If you don't calm down, we will go home. I was going to let you go with Theo but I can see that controlling yourself will not come easily enough. Come back over here with me and Caroline."

"I'll be good! I will! Please let me go with Theo again," he pleaded. "We really will behave."

"You can go with Theo but remember you had your one warning. If you're acting crazy, we're gone." Oliver nodded. "Theo, I'm expecting you to be the bigger man here. No arguments with him please and keep an eye on him."

Theo rolled his eyes but nodded. Then they were off, barely managing to walk. Gibbs shook his head; he had a feeling they would be heading home soon.

Caroline found two books that she wanted to check out and went to a table nearby to begin reading while the boys were still looking. She smiled at the girl sitting beside her, said, "Hi, I'm Caroline" and began a conversation. Gibbs smiled. She was such a social butterfly. It was like she honestly could not help herself talking to everyone around her.

Gibbs went in search of the boys and found them down an aisle, Oliver climbing up the shelves.

"Oliver Thomas!" Gibbs said in a loud whisper. Oliver squeaked in surprise and jumped down.

Ten minutes later they were in the car heading home. He had to follow through with his warning, his promise of going home if Oliver couldn't behave.

"Is it that hard, Oliver? Really, I want to know. It's not like I ask you to be perfectly still and not talk. All I ask is that you move or walk around somewhat calmly and that you talk quietly. And climbing up the shelves at the library is never okay. Dad and I have explained over and over again that we may let you climb on things at home but you _cannot_ climb on things anywhere else. Haven't we?"

"Yes, Papa."

"And do you understand that? Do you understand that it's one thing to climb at home but it's another thing to climb in public places? One is okay and one is not?"

Gibbs and Tony had considered that they could confuse the kids by letting them climb stuff at home while forbidding it elsewhere. But they had explained it and talked about it with them numerous times and they were old enough now to understand the difference and to control themselves. Oliver just had a harder time than the others when it came to that rule.

"I know. I'm sorry I climbed."

They arrived home and Gibbs sent them outside to play. He was trying to stay away from letting them watch TV. They had always limited TV and movie time, Gibbs being a little more strict about it than Tony, but he had found himself turning the TV on more and more this summer in desperation for some peaceful quiet time. He felt guilty and ashamed that as adamant as he had been about there being little to no TV, he had sunk to putting them in front of it for a little downtime.

He left them in the backyard by themselves for about twenty-five minutes while he cleaned up around the house before checking on them. Since they were fenced in he wasn't too concerned leaving them alone. He usually sent them out and checked on them periodically. When he stepped out, he saw Oliver attempting to climb up the fence. He was beginning to think he really just couldn't help himself.

"Trying to escape?" he called to his younger boy.

Oliver looked back, hanging awkwardly against the fence, and grinned. He jumped down and eyed Theo. "Race you around the yard! Start and finish here. Run around the fence, no cheating or shortcuts." Theo shrugged in answer. "Ready, set, go!" Oliver yelled and they took off. Theo beat him easily but Oliver didn't care; he took a running leap at Theo and wrapped himself around his big brother, causing them to fall to the ground. Theo looked mildly annoyed before laughing which made Oliver laugh in excitement.

Gibbs smiled at the sight. Oliver worshiped the ground that Theo walked on, despite Theo's constant attitude and shortness with him. Ultimately, Theo looked out for both his brother and sister though. He would always make sure nothing happened to them. He got angry and annoyed with them but he loved them.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a whirl of activity. They ate lunch, Gibbs had them read for a while, they took Gunny for a walk, the kids were allowed one TV show "_not _Spongebob," and then they were sent back outside to play.

When he went back outside with them, he was deep in thought working on the garden, kneeling down on the ground, facing the fence. Suddenly he felt big, strong arms go around him in a tight hold. Panic shot through him. He must be losing his touch if he let someone get back here and get his hands on him without hearing.

He struggled against the hold then heard a soft, deep "Hey, hey, easy" in his ear. Tony.

He let out a shaky breath and sagged against his lover. Tony kept his arms around him from behind and gently rubbed a hand over Gibbs' stomach. "I didn't mean to scare you so bad. I'm sorry," he said sincerely, sounding upset with himself.

Gibbs turned in his embrace, hiding his face against Tony's neck. "That's okay," he mumbled. He pulled back and looked at Tony. "What time is it?"

"It's about 4:00; we finished up a case and got all the paperwork done so I sent everybody home."

"Good, I'm glad," Gibbs said with a smile. Then the kids were all over Tony. Theo jumped up on his dad's back and laughed happily.

"You're home for the evening, Dad?" he asked, his voice barely containing his excitement.

"I'm home, boo. I was thinking about taking you three to the park so Pop could have some quiet time, unless he wants to come too." The kids quickly agreed with that idea and they all looked at Gibbs to see if he would stay or go. On the one hand, he hadn't had any alone time in God knows how long and his sanity could probably, or definitely, use it. But on the other hand, Tony was home early from work and spending time with him and the kids would be worth much more than a few minutes by himself.

"Wait, I have a better idea, Daddy. Even better than the park!" Caroline half-yelled enthusiastically.

"Tell me," he said curiously.

"We could go to the pool!" she answered.

There was a public pool that wasn't too far of a drive that they went to occasionally. Not nearly as often as the kids would like. They would probably live at the pool if he and Tony let them.

"Is it still open?" Tony asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "I think it stays open until about 6:00."

They all went inside and got their swimsuits on before heading to the pool. When they got there Gibbs was surprised to see it wasn't too crowded; there were a few small families hanging out around the pool. A few kids were swimming.

Theo, Caroline, and Oliver immediately jumped into the pool. Gibbs and Tony put their towels and stuff aside while keeping an eye on them. A few minutes later, Tony jumped in after them. Gibbs grinned; he was such a kid sometimes. He soon stepped in, not quite as enthusiastically as the others, and joined them.

They swam around the shallow end where the kids could easily stand and play. They ventured toward the middle of the pool where it was a little deeper and stayed down there swimming. Thirty minutes into their swim, a group of teenagers came through the gate. Immediately they were loud and obnoxious.

Tony rolled his eyes and went back to spinning Oliver around in the water. Gibbs pulled Caroline to him and threatened to dunk her. She squealed, laughed, and wrapped her arms and legs around him as tight as she could. "Don't do it, Papa. I'll take you with me!"

"Oh you'll take me with you, huh?"

"Yeah, you have no chance!" she giggled.

"No chance!"

Caroline laughed and kissed him, tightening her arms around his neck even more. Tony came over and wrapped his arms around them, sandwiching Caroline between them.

"Hi Daddy," she said, her head resting back against him.

"Sweet girl." He kissed the top of her head. When he pulled her from Gibbs he said "Ready? Ready?" and pushed her under the water. She came up with a shocked face and gasp of breath before saying "You're in big trouble, Daddy," and going after him.

They managed another thirty minutes of relatively peaceful and fun swimming before the rowdy teenagers got to be too much. Oliver couldn't swim for being splashed and Theo's attitude went up another notch at the noise they were making. Gibbs would love to tell them off but decided that it wasn't worth it in the end, not in front of the kids.

"Our kids are never going to be teenagers," Tony said, with a look of annoyance in the direction of the older kids.

"Oh yes they are and pretty soon, too," Gibbs said, which caused Tony to groan.

But they had had fun despite the unruly teens. Gibbs thought he should bring them to the pool more often. They really did enjoy being in the water. He would have to try to remember this idea from now on when he was looking for ideas of something to do with them.

After much begging and pleading, Gibbs picked up McDonalds for dinner. He grumbled about it and threats of "We're not eating this junk again" ensued, but he treated them this time. Tony gave him a small, knowing grin. He was really getting soft in his old age. He glared at his lover before smirking and tapping him under the chin.

The kids were crazy when they got home, running around the house talking loudly, refusing to change out of their swimsuits, being generally insane. Gibbs and Tony sat on the couch and talked quietly. This was normal background noise for them.

Then suddenly he had a lap full of wiggling, giggling little boy and groaned in pain at the bony body parts jabbing into him as he flailed around excitedly.

"Oliver!" He said loudly over their yelling and carrying on. Oliver stopped abruptly and leaned forward to kiss Gibbs. He got on his knees on Gibbs' lap and leapt onto Tony's lap, who also groaned in pain and winced.

Gibbs grabbed Oliver and pulled him back against him, forcing him to be still. "What did we tell you about jumping on people?" he said quietly in his ear.

He wiggled momentarily before stilling again. "Not to do it."

"Yes, that's right. Why did we tell you not to do it?" Gibbs asked patiently.

"Because I'm too big now and it hurts."

He and Tony had recently had to talk to Oliver about personal space and the fact that it may have been fun and cute when he jumped on people when he was little but it was no longer fun and could hardly be considered cute when all the person felt was pain. Like most restrictions, he was having a hard time following this one. They went a little easier on him when he jumped on them, re-explaining why he couldn't, but when he jumped on Abby, McGee, or anyone else they lit into him about it.

"Yeah, you're way too big now and it does hurt a lot. Please try to remember not to jump on anybody anymore. I know it's hard to remember sometimes but do your best."

He nodded before wiggling around again, past his limit of sitting still. He jumped off the couch and was off again.

When bedtime came around, Tony went upstairs to make them get ready. And when he still hadn't come back down twenty-five minutes later, Gibbs figured something must be up. All he had to do was tell them to put their pajamas on, make sure they did it, tell them goodnight, and come back downstairs. They had recently declared themselves too big for their nighttime routine of story time and tucking in. It had saddened him and Tony a little but they complied.

He made his way up the stairs and listened for sounds. He could hear Oliver and Caroline talking quietly. Nothing unusual there. There was no noise from Theo's room. He made it to his own room and stopped, smiling at the sight in front of him. Tony, still dressed in the jeans he had changed into, was fast asleep on the bed. He was lying on his stomach, sprawled out, hand resting on Gibbs' pillow.

So much for having sex tonight, he thought. Tony must be feeling his age if he fell asleep knowing they had planned to play tonight. Gibbs watched him sleeping for a moment, lost in thought. Tony was starting to look his age some too. He had some gray at the temples and a few flecks throughout his hair, there were a few more "laugh lines" in his face, and he moved just a bit slower than he used to.

And at the risk of being a complete sap, Gibbs loved him more than ever. They had had their ups and downs, plenty of downs, but they had pulled through and their relationship was as strong as it had ever been. They had made this work despite any problems that arose.

Gibbs stripped and crawled into bed. Bleary eyes blinked open and Tony smiled lazily at him, making a content hum in his throat.

"Hey sleepy," Gibbs said quietly and smiled. "Want to take those jeans off so you're a little more comfortable?"

There was a nod but no movement otherwise. Gibbs helped him out of his jeans and lay back down on his side of the bed. Tony was back asleep and snoring within seconds. Gibbs followed soon after.

He woke to sounds coming from downstairs. He listened for a moment and realized it was the kids. The clock read 6:15. It was odd that they went downstairs; they always ran in to wake Gibbs and Tony up first thing if they weren't already awake. He preferred that because the kids being downstairs alone could amount to no good.

"Oliver!" Gibbs yelled loudly. Tony jerked awake and fumbled around in confusion.

"Yes, Papa?" Oliver said from the doorway a moment later.

"What are you three doing?"

"It's okay; we're just making a spaceship. Don't worry," he said in a reassuring voice before taking off again.

Gibbs groaned and ran a hand over his face, sitting up on the side of the bed to face the day. 6:15 in the morning and the kids were already "making a spaceship. Don't worry." Which is exactly why he was worried.

He really, really missed school days.


	30. Chapter 30

**Enjoy and review, pretty please. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Tony vaguely heard someone talking. He rolled over in bed with a sigh and was about to get more comfortable when he heard more talking and giggles. The alarm clock on the hotel nightstand said 6:30.

"Oliver!" Theo said loudly in an annoyed voice.

"I'm sorry, Theo Bean!"

Gibbs stirred beside him and rolled onto his side. He looked over Tony at the clock and groaned. "No," he said in protest. "Turn the TV on for them. I don't even care what they watch." He burrowed under the covers and closed his eyes.

They had been traveling pretty late last night and then the kids had been full of energy when they got to the hotel. It had been well past midnight when everyone had finally settled enough to go to sleep. They were much too excited.

Going to Disney World did that to kids, especially for the first time.

After the TV was turned on with the volume low, Tony settled back down beside Gibbs and closed his eyes. He probably wouldn't go back to sleep with them talking and the TV on but he was too tired to really be up and about just yet. Gibbs was already fast asleep again beside him.

It hadn't been easy convincing his stubborn lover that a trip to Disneyworld would be fun. They never went anywhere and he wanted the kids to experience these things, preferably while they were still young.

They were staying for four days and he knew the kids planned to go nonstop until they could barely stay awake. They should sleep well tonight, he thought with a grin.

He rolled onto his back and glanced over. Theo and Oliver would be sharing a bed and Caroline was sleeping on a smaller rollaway bed. During the night or the morning she must have moved onto their bed though because they were all crowded together.

Theo snatched the remote from Oliver as he said "Let me see what else is on."

Arguing ensued at that point. Tony decided it was time to get up and take a shower. He told them to keep their voices down as he passed. When he came out of the bathroom, Caroline was snuggling with a now awake Gibbs, Oliver was jumping on the bed, and Theo was trying to make him fall. So much for letting Papa sleep longer.

Once everybody else was dressed they ate a quick breakfast before coming back to the hotel room to get ready for the day. Gibbs put some extra money in his wallet, put some bottles of water in a backpack, and pulled out the sunscreen. The twins immediately began to put it on, with a little assistance from Tony to make sure they didn't miss anywhere.

Theo sat stubbornly on the bed and refused to touch the bottle of sunscreen. He crossed his arms and stared sulkily at the floor.

"Put the sunscreen on or you don't leave this room," Gibbs threatened. "I mean it, Theodore."

Theo continued to sit there unmoving, testing the limits as usual.

"Okay, looks like Dad, Oliver, and Caroline are going out today. Theo and I will have to stay here."

Theo rolled his eyes and got up with a huff. "Fine, whatever, I'll put it on!"

"And lose the attitude or it won't matter if you put sunscreen on or not, you'll be stuck here anyway."

"Yeah, okay," Theo said in a sarcastic voice.

"Theodore," Tony barked at their older boy. Puberty and teenage hormones had crept up on them. Theo had added _smartass_ to his other list of wonderful qualities such as _moody_, _stubborn_, and _uncooperative_. He and Gibbs fought constantly. There was very little that they weren't at odds about. Sometimes it was almost amusing but mostly it just got old.

He looked down at his son. "We are not doing this today. If you can't say things nicely then keep your mouth closed. Understand?"

Theo scowled and didn't answer. Tony continued to stare at him. "Understand?"

"You said if I couldn't say something nicely to keep my mouth closed," Theo said as he looked up at him.

He really didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or get angry. He bit the inside of his mouth so he wouldn't show any emotion and had to look away briefly to keep his composure. Gibbs looked like he was also torn between amusement and anger.

What a little smart aleck their child was. "Okay, Theo, I'll give you that one. I did tell you not to speak if you couldn't be nice. I'm not putting up with this today though. Okay? You _will_ come back to this room if you keep it up."

Theo nodded. "Okay."

The drive from the hotel to the actual parks was only about ten minutes. The kids could barely contain their excitement.

After they parked the car and got out, Gibbs reiterated the "don't leave Dad and Papa's sides, if you somehow get separated find someone who works here" spiel much to their chagrin.

And then they were off. Today they would be visiting the Magic Kingdom which was the park the kids were most excited about. They immediately found a ride they wanted to go on and got in line. Gibbs declined riding and, when it was their turn to go, stepped off to the side to wait.

Once they got off of that ride, they immediately ran to another. The kids managed to get Gibbs to go on some rides with them but he mostly preferred to sit them out.

Tony went on most of the rides with them because they wanted him to. Sometimes he felt like a big goofy kid, but he had fun.

They got off of one particular ride, a water ride, soaking wet. Gibbs had absolutely refused to ride it. Chicken.

"Did you have fun?" he asked the kids with a big smile.

"I had fun, Papa! You missed out," Caroline said.

Gibbs wiped his hand through Tony's dripping hair, looked at it and grimaced before wiping it on his shorts, and said "Oh, I don't know, I think Daddy had enough fun and got wet enough for the two of us."

Caroline giggled at that and they walked on. Tony wrinkled his nose in disgust at his squishy wet shoes. Were they really only part of the way through the day? He was having so much fun but he also realized how tired he was.

"How about lunch?" Gibbs suggested a little after noon.

They stopped off at a restaurant in the park to eat. When Gibbs paid for the food he grumbled something about "eat every bite because there went our lifesavings." Tony snickered.

"Are you having a good time, Jethro?" Tony asked him as they ate.

"Yeah, I'm having a good time. I'm glad you talked me into this, the kids love it. That's all I care about." He smiled.

"Can we get ice cream?" Oliver asked around a mouth full of pizza.

"We'll see," Gibbs answered good-naturedly.

"That's parent talk for 'Heck no, we're not getting any ice cream, are you crazy?'" were Theo's words of wisdom.

Gibbs snorted. "No, that's Papa talk for '_we'll see'_."

After lunch, they immediately went back to the rides, the kids got their ice cream, and everybody was having a good time. Even Theo was being almost completely pleasant. Tony noticed that Gibbs was trying, and failing, to hide the fact that he was limping a little. His knee was probably bothering him with all of the walking.

By 9:30 that night they had been going nonstop for over twelve hours. The kids were now dragging their feet and looked completely drained, as if they could fall asleep standing up.

"Daddy, I'm so tired. And my feet hurt," Caroline said with a tired sigh.

"That happens when you're running around all day. Would you like a ride?"

She nodded and Tony bent a little so she could hop onto his back, arms around his shoulders and legs wrapped around his waist.

"I want a ride," Oliver said quietly. Not even he could muster up enthusiasm at this point. He looked up at Gibbs. "Please, Pop?"

Gibbs looked exhausted and in pain but he bent down for Oliver to climb onto his back. He winced a little, faltered a moment at the pain in his knee, readjusted Oliver on his back and began to walk.

When they finally got to the car and got everybody in, Gibbs sat in the passenger seat and immediately closed his eyes while he rested his head back against the seat.

"I don't want to stay out this long tomorrow," he mumbled. "I just don't have the energy anymore."

"We won't stay out this late again," Tony assured him.

"It's not so much the hour that bothers me, just how long we were out today. If we could take a break for a couple of hours to split up the day, I'd probably be okay." Gibbs yawned loudly and dramatically, making the kids giggle despite being half asleep.

"Go brush your teeth," Gibbs ordered as soon as they walked into the room. The kids groaned in protest. Theo said "I'm sure we'll be fine skipping that."

"It's not a choice, Theo. Please go brush your teeth," Gibbs asked him patiently. Theo glared at him and Gibbs glared back.

"Dad, can I turn on the TV?" Oliver asked.

"No, Papa asked you to brush your teeth. Go do that, please."

They eventually got everybody settled but tired, cranky children who didn't want to cooperate made it difficult. Gibbs was half asleep the second his head hit the pillow. Tony, tired as he was, probably wouldn't be able to sleep until everybody else was quiet and drifting off.

"Oliver, scoot over. Get off of me," Theo complained from the other bed. "Oliver! Get off of me! Papa, tell him to get off!"

Gibbs was silent.

"Papa?"

"I am trying very hard to ignore you right now, Theo. Oliver, whatever you're doing _stop it_."

Tony heard a mumbled "Brat," from Theo followed by a whispered "Dork," from Oliver.

Then there was silence and Tony was able to fall asleep.

He woke the next morning feeling as if he were being stared at. He looked over to see Caroline leaning down against the bed staring at his face.

"Um, hi baby," he said in a sleepy whisper.

"Hi Daddy," came the sweet reply.

"What time is it?"

Caroline glanced behind her then back at Tony. "It's 7:48."

"And everybody else is still asleep?" He looked over at the other side of the bed. Gibbs was out cold, appeared to be in a deep sleep. The other bed showed the boys still slumbering as well. Sleeping past 7:00 in the morning was a rare thing with them. The kids had always been, and it seemed would always be, early risers. Very early risers.

Maybe keeping them out the entire day and going without a break was the key to getting them to sleep a little later.

"Can I have a snuggle?" Caroline asked, big green eyes looking into his.

"I'd love a snuggle. Crawl in right here beside me so we don't wake Papa." He pulled back the covers and she got in beside him, immediately cuddling up to him.

They whispered quietly while the others slept.

"Did you have fun yesterday?"

Caroline nodded against him. "My favorite was the water rides. Oh, and when we got ice cream. I wonder if we can have ice cream again today."

"Maybe we can. Let's wait and see later today. It's too early to think about ice cream."

She giggled and poked him. "It's never too early to think about ice cream. We could eat ice cream for breakfast."

Sign of his age that he thought that sounded absolutely disgusting?

He made a face. "That's kind of gross, baby. Let's stick to the normal breakfast stuff like oatmeal and fruit, eggs and toast."

"You and Papa are so healthy."

What an odd thing to hear about himself and Gibbs.

There was movement on the other side of the bed, followed by a loud growly noise as Gibbs stretched awake.

"Papa is such a bear," Caroline whispered with a giggle.

A head popped up, hair sticking up comically, and cheek red and lined from sleeping with it against the bed. "Did I hear something about a bear? I know you weren't talking about me," Gibbs said in a rough voice.

"Yes, I was."

Gibbs grunted in reply. He stretched once more before announcing "I have to pee."

"That's our charming Papa," Tony told Caroline who laughed loudly.

Theo and Oliver were soon awake. Oliver was immediately wired and ready to go. Theo was immediately grumpy and looking for an argument.

They made it to the park and went in search of rides. Tony was, once again, designated as their ride-along. They were in the park Epcot which didn't have a ton of rides but the kids searched them out anyway. Then they went to the various other attractions. Tony and Gibbs particularly enjoyed learning about different cultures and teaching the kids about different cultures shown in this park.

Fun and learning, what could be better? Theo, although interested, didn't have much to say. Oliver and Caroline were intrigued and asked many questions about the different places all over the world.

"Hey Dad, can we ride that train thing?"

Tony looked at him in confusion for a moment before he realized what he was talking about. "It's called a monorail and I think we could ride it later when we leave. What do you think, Papa?"

Gibbs nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, Oliver."

"Does Mickey Mouse come around here? We didn't see him all day yesterday," Oliver complained.

"I think he comes around here. Keep looking for him," Gibbs answered as they all walked along.

When they did find Mickey Mouse, Gibbs tried to get Tony to stand with him with the kids to take a picture. Tony refused and made Gibbs get in the picture with the kids. _If looks could kill_, he thought.

The next day was a whirl of activity mixed up with crazy behavior from exhausted kids. Oliver, who was rarely ever upset, had three meltdowns in two hours. Caroline complained about everything and complaining was not typically part of her vocabulary. Theo was mostly his usual self but even he added an extra bit of crankiness to his mood. Despite the most unpleasant moods, they enjoyed the day and made the most of it.

Going home the next day, with Theo arguing with Caroline and Oliver whining about various things and Gibbs in an awful mood, Tony was convinced that he needed a vacation after his vacation.


	31. Chapter 31

**Something a little different this chapter. I hope it's enjoyable. :) I'm still working on the next chapter so I'm not quite sure when I'll next update, just know that I _am_ writing it and _will_ update as soon as possible. ;)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.  
**

The play button was pushed and an image popped up on the TV screen.

_Infant Theo was lying on somebody's legs, looking around and trying to suck on his little fist. _

"_Hi Theodore, hey buddy," came Gibbs' voice. "Here's Little Bean, recently turned four months old. He's a happy boy right now and apparently those fingers are pretty dang good."_

_Theo's lips smacked as he pushed his hand against his mouth. _

"_Daddy wanted some video of his baby boy." The camera suddenly twirled around and showed Gibbs' face. "It took me about an hour to figure this damn camera out so enjoy." It twirled back to Theo before suddenly twirling back again to focus on Gibbs. "Can you bleep that word out or something? Later? Probably not. Okay." It spun back to the baby. _

"_Give Dada a smile and then I'll get this thing out of your face. Just one smile, Bean, for Dada." Theo looked at the camera in disinterest. "No? No smiles today? You're a stubborn boy, huh? That's okay; we'll blame it on Dad. You want to blame it on Dada? I'll let you."_

_The talking worked and Theo presented the camera with a big, beautiful gummy smile._

The picture suddenly changed. The view was the backyard and it was a sunny day.

_Theo came into view of the camera, toddling with somewhat unsteady legs, still getting used to being upright. He plopped down in the grass and lifted his foot, yanking the shoe off of it._

"_Jethro, shoes…" Tony said from behind the camera. _

_The other shoe was quickly pulled off. Theo maneuvered into a standing position, shoes in his hands. Then he screamed shrilly, threw the shoes in the air, and ran. Gibbs came into view a second later, chasing the screaming and laughing toddler. He caught up to him and picked him up. He dipped him back and tickled his stomach, making him screech and laugh even more. _

"_Shoes _on_, please. We're leaving soon to visit Aunt Abby," Gibbs said as he put the shoes back on Theo's feet. _

_After the shoes were on, Gibbs smiled at the baby in his arms and nuzzled his cheek. The love was more than apparent on his face._

The picture on the TV changed again, this time to a bedroom.

_Gibbs was lying on the bed propped up a little on pillows. Theo was lying against him, listening to the story that Gibbs was reading. _

_Gibbs paused in his reading and looked up, eyes rolling immediately. "Put that thing away, Tony."_

"_Put 'way!" Theo mimicked._

"_I'd rather not," Tony answered, walking further into the room. "Are you going night-night soon, Little Bean?"_

_Theo shook his head no. _

"_Yes, you're going to bed soon, Theo. It's almost time to go to sleep," Gibbs said as he looked down at his son. Theo looked up at him and grinned. He lay down beside Gibbs, feigned sleep, then giggled and popped back up. _

_Tony chuckled, Gibbs grinned, and Theo laughed too._

The view was of the basement, someone was walking down the stairs with the camera.

_Tony zoomed in on Gibbs' butt as he worked on the boat. "Nice butt," he commented then brought the camera up to Gibbs' face._

_Gibbs turned around and glared even as he tried not to grin. "What's L.B. doing?"_

"_Drawing a picture of New Kid. I asked him if he thought the baby is a boy or a girl, he said 'dog'."_

_Gibbs chuckled. "Why are you videoing me? That's got to be the most boring video on there."_

"_Nah, it's good. Any time I'm looking at you, it's good."_

_With a shake of his head, Gibbs turned back to his boat._

"_Do a dance or something."_

_Blue eyes glanced his way momentarily then back to the boat. "I don't dance."_

"_Fine. Sing a song for me. I know you sing. You do it all the time."_

_He looked like he was debating it when there was a shout of "Daddy" from the top of the stairs._

"_Yes?" Tony shouted back._

"_I all done."_

"_Okay, boo, I'll be righ…" _

The camera came into focus on Theo's face. He looked bored, staring at something.

"_L.B., can you please take your eyes off of the TV for a moment?" Tony asked. _

_Theo glanced at the camera. "What?"_

"_What do you think about getting a new baby brother and a baby sister?" Gibbs asked him, off to the side._

_Theo shrugged and looked back at the TV. "Maybe not."_

"_What should we name the boy baby and the girl baby, Theo?" Tony asked him curiously._

_A thoughtful look came over the little boy's face. After several seconds had passed, he replied "The boy baby be called Theo and the girl baby be called Papa."_

_Tony roared with laughter, the camera was shaking, and he took a few deep breaths to try to calm down. He finally stopped enough to talk. "That's good, baby. We can have a Theo and a Papa. Those are good names. A boy Theo and a girl Papa." The camera began to shake once more and Tony was laughing all over again._

"_Why is the girl named Papa?" Gibbs asked Theo, sounding both amused and incredulous._

_Theo looked over at him with a pitying you-clearly-don't-know-anything kind of look and said "Well she can't be _Theo_." _

_Tony snickered._

"_Fine," Gibbs said in a resigned voice. "You do make a very good point. Baby girl could _not_ be Theo."_

_Theo nodded and Tony giggled once more. Suddenly Gibbs' face popped into view of the camera and Tony yelped, the camera's view changed to the ceiling as if dropped and then it was turned off. _

Two babies, one dressed in a pink onesie and the other dressed in a blue and white onesie, lying side by side on a blanket.

"_The new babies, 3 days old, this sweet baby is Oliver Thomas and the little lady to his left is Miss Caroline Elizabeth," Gibbs said softly. "The Bean still isn't completely sure what to think of them. Huh, bud?" Theo stuck his head in front of the camera. "What do you think of your baby brother and sister?"_

_Theo stared at the camera, glared, and walked off._

"_Typical response from L.B.," Gibbs snorted. Oliver was making soft baby noises, moving his legs and stretching his arms out. "Ah yeah, that's a good stretch," Gibbs said. _

_Tony came into view as Gibbs moved the camera. He was on his side on the couch, asleep. "And Daddy's snoozing. Don't bother him Theodore." Theo had been slowly making his way over. _

"_Why?"_

"_He's sleepy. Come over here and sit with me please."_

_Theo glared again and one of the babies began to wail. The camera was turned off._

A new video was put in and the play button was hit once more.

_Someone was giggling, sweet giggles of a baby. Oliver toddled into view._

"_Oliver, what are you doing, little man?" Gibbs asked him. _

_Oliver looked over and grinned. He began to run toward the camera as fast as his little legs would take him. There was a short "Hey" from Gibbs followed by Oliver crashing into him, an "oof" sound was heard and the camera went tumbling._

A shirtless Tony was sitting at the table looking bleary eyed, half asleep, and extremely grumpy.

"_This is what I woke up to this morning," Gibbs commented._

_Tony glared, scratched his chest idly, yawned. _

"_Where did Theo go? He asked me to get this out so he could play some music for me."_

_There was an incoherent grumble followed by "I don't know, upstairs. Too early for music. Drumming on every damn thing at freakin' 6:00 in the morning."_

"_Babe, kids…" _

_He looked around as if he didn't realize Oliver and Caroline were in the room, then grunted._

"_You're in one heck of a mood."_

"_Yeah, well," was the only response._

"_I bet people don't realize just how grumpy the fun, cheerful DiNozzo can be sometimes."_

_Tony sent a look his way that was slightly below murderous. _

"_And I have to put up with said grumpy DiNozzo. Why don't you go back to bed?"_

"_Because then that gives you the chance to say 'well you went back to bed and got to sleep in, I had to get up early and take care of the kids.'" The last part was said in a deep, fake voice. _

"_Have I _ever_ said something like that? Have I ever whined or complained that I have to get up with the kids?"_

_Tony looked like he wanted to say yes, but sighed a "No."_

_Theo came running in, in his underwear and with a hat on, toy guitar in one hand and plastic sticks in another. _

"_Um, nice clothes, baby. Where did your pants go?" Gibbs asked, clearly trying not to laugh._

"_This is better," Theo answered. "I _like_ my underwear."_

"_Well, by all means, son, do walk around half naked."_

_Theo gave him a pointed look. "Papa, you don't have any pants on either."_

_Gibbs laughed out loud at that and said "Play me some music, Bean."_

_Theo played his toy guitar and drummed his sticks against a chair and even grumpy Tony praised his music making and clapped for him._

The view was of the basement, Gibbs working on the boat.

_He was talking quietly with someone. He didn't appear to know that he was being videoed. _

"_That's a good job, baby. Do you want to come help me sand this part?"_

"_Okay, Papa," came the small reply from Caroline."Why do you have to do that?"_

"_What, sand it? You tell me. Feel this part, very carefully please so you don't get any splinters," Gibbs directed her small hand to the wood so she could feel. "Then feel this part that I've already sanded." She ran her hand along the sanded part. "What do they feel like?"_

_Caroline looked up at him thoughtfully. "This part is rough and… and splintery. This one is smooth and feels nice."_

_Gibbs nodded. "That's right. Mostly we sand to smooth the wood. Very good, Caroline."_

_She beamed up at him and he smiled down at her._

There was a Christmas tree up in the corner of the room, it was early Christmas morning.

_Gibbs was sitting on the floor by the tree, hair sticking up and pajamas on, he looked half asleep. The kids filed into the room._

"_Holy crap! Santa fit three bikes down the chimney!" Oliver immediately commented._

_Gibbs was seen in the background covering his face with his hand and shaking his head. _

"_And look there, he ate all the cookies!" Oliver screeched loudly. _

"_And drank the milk too," Caroline pointed out. _

"_Wow, he was really here," Oliver said in an amazed voice. _

"_Well yeah, baby, what did you think he would just skip over our house and go to the next?"_

_Oliver grinned. "I thought about it!" He began to run around the room._

"_Santa brought you each one big present which is the bikes and one little present. Daddy and I got you each three presents."_

"_Cool!" Theo said happily. "That's a lot of presents!"_

_Gibbs smiled and pointed them to their presents. _

_They went to ripping paper off in no time. _

"_Let me see what you've got there, Little Bean," Tony said._

_Theo turned to the camera and held up a set of books. "Isn't that great, Dad?"_

"_That _is_ great, buddy. I'm so glad you like your present."_

_Caroline showed off her new baby doll. "Papa, I was wanting this baby!"_

_Gibbs smiled at her. _

_Oliver was staring at something in shock. He was completely frozen and his mouth was hanging open._

"_What do you have, little man?" Tony asked._

_He held up a DVD case, still seemingly in shock. _

"_That's kind of sad, Jethro. He's speechless over a movie."_

"_I don't think it's sad. They've got a few movies over here and that's more than they need."_

"_My very own movie?" Oliver asked._

"_Well, it would be nice if you shared with your brother and sister but technically speaking, yes we got the movie for you," Gibbs answered. _

"_I'll share!" Oliver said with a happy smile. _

_After they opened their presents, Tony asked "Is everybody happy?" in a peppy voice. _

"_Yes, Daddy," Caroline answered. "Thank you for my presents!"_

"_Yeah, thank you, Papa and Dad," Theo followed. "I really like my stuff."_

"_Me too," Oliver said. "This stuff is so cool."_

"_We're so glad and you're very welcome," Tony told them._

The camera was turned on and pointed at nothing in particular.

_Gibbs was reading something, appearing to be deep in concentration. He looked over then did a double take. "What are you doing with the camera?"_

"_I'm trying something."_

_Gibbs gave him a _you're weird_ look and went back to his reading. Oliver came into view of the camera._

"_I need to tell you about today. It's been a really funny day."_

"_Okay, tell me," Tony said, sounding distracted._

"_Today we were… we were at home and the phone kept ringing over and over and over and over and over again," Oliver was continuously moving as he talked, as if he were a big ball of energy that couldn't be still for even a second. "And Papa was getting _so_ mad. He picked up the phone really nicely the first few times. Then when all these people kept calling, he was angrier than an angry bee. And he was cussing like a pirate."_

_Tony picked up the camera at this point and focused more on Oliver. "Like a sailor, you mean. Although I'm sure pirates swear as much as sailors do."_

"_Yeah, like a sailor. And then it rang again and he picked it up and yelled 'WHAT?' really loud," a fit of giggles ensued. _

"_Oh yeah, Pop had a temper tantrum, huh?" Tony chuckled._

"_And then when we went to the library and the store, we were driving home and," Gibbs began to look suspiciously uncomfortable in the background, "he got pulled over by a police man!"_

"_Oh _really?_" Tony asked with glee in his voice, as if the thought of Gibbs getting pulled over simply delighted him. "And how did that go?"_

"_Papa sweet talked him, so he didn't get a ticket."_

_Gibbs' mouth dropped open. "Did you just say I _sweet talked_ him?"_

_Oliver nodded. Tony began to laugh. Gibbs' mouth continued to hang open. _

"_You really did kind of sweet talk him, Papa," Theo said, out of view of the camera._

_Gibbs looked like he was about to have a fit. _

_Oliver nodded again. "Papa was like, 'I'm sorry sir I'm just really in a hurry right now. I was trying to get home with the kids and it's just a really busy day'," he said in an overly sweet and slightly pleading voice._

_Blue eyes widened. _

"I'm sorry?Sir?_" Tony said. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I have never in all my years of knowing you heard you call someone besides a person of higher status _sir_." He laughed, "You were really desperate!"_

_Gibbs glared daggers in his direction and walked away._

"_You'll appreciate the humor in this later, Jethro!" Tony called after him and was laughing as the camera turned off._

The view was a close-up of Tony, showing only his upper body. The house appeared to be silent around him.

"_I'm about to leave early for work, the kids aren't even up yet. Just wanted to say…Happy birthday, Jethro," Tony smiled softly. "A year older, a year wiser, but just as great and just as fun. I'm sorry I couldn't be here today but I'm going to leave work early this afternoon. In case you miss it, check the kitchen counter. There might be a few little things on there for you. And no, they're not tools for your boat. I _can_ be completely original on occasion."_

_He glanced back before looking at the camera again. "Okay, I have to get going. Have a great day. Do something wild and crazy, like leave the house or drink a beer in celebration." He grinned._

"_I love you so much."_

The video stopped as Gibbs fell asleep on the couch with a smile on his face and memories drifting though his mind.


	32. Chapter 32

**I'm very sorry for such a long delay. I've been so busy with school! I hope this chapter is enjoyable. As always, reviews are much loved! Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.**

Gibbs looked up as Oliver and Caroline walked in the door after school. They were fifteen now and life was a lot different. Oliver had shot up already and was still growing; he was still mostly a "wild child" and a funny guy but had added some attitude to the mix. Caroline was as sweet as ever and didn't have a disrespectful bone in her body. She was looking more like a woman and less like a girl every day.

"Hey guys, good day at school?" he asked.

"Not bad, Pop." Oliver headed for the kitchen in search of food.

Caroline dropped her backpack on the floor and sat on the couch beside Gibbs, propping her feet on the coffee table. "Can Sydney sleep here Sunday night? Her parents are going out of town and she says if she has to stay with her brother they'll kill each other before the evening is over. He's a real jerk. Theo can't stand him; they're in the same grade. The other day at school they almost got in a fight." She seemed to realize she had said too much and bit her lip. "Anyway, would that be okay?"

Gibbs filed Theo almost getting in a fight away for later and thought about Caroline's request."On a school night?" Then he remembered that the girl's parents sometimes had to travel for business. "I guess so, as long as she's mostly hanging out with you and not Oliver." The last time Caroline's friend had come over, she and Oliver had spent most of the time flirting and getting a little too close for Gibbs' liking. Damn raging hormones.

Caroline grinned and rolled her eyes. "Okay, Papa."

Tony came down the stairs, whistling. He had retired a few years ago and, despite Gibbs worrying they would drive each other crazy, life had been pretty great since. They enjoyed finally having time with each other.

"When is Theo supposed to be bringing this girl over?" Gibbs asked him.

Eighteen year old Theo had been dating a girl his age for the past few months and they had yet to meet her. She was Theo's first girlfriend and he seemed to like her a lot. Like Oliver, Theo had shot up. He stood at a tall 6'2" and was rather thin and lanky but had worked out enough to look "buff" as Tony liked to say. His hair was a shaggy dark brown mess and it drove Gibbs crazy. He had never outright told him to get a haircut and he wouldn't, but he hinted at it often, much to Theo's amusement.

He wasn't quite as bad tempered as he had been as a child, but he was still very much a quiet and moody person. They had all been surprised when he announced he was dating someone because he was typically very anti-girlfriend and antisocial in general. Anti-girlfriend because, in his words, "Girls cost money and I don't like to spend money. They tell you what to do and I don't like to be told what to do." No, he certainly didn't like to be told what to do.

Tony glanced over at the clock, shrugged. "I think he said 5:30?"

Theo walked in the door at 5:45 holding the girl's hand and smiling. "Hi Pop, Dad," he nodded in their direction.

"Theo," Gibbs smiled.

"Ali, this is my Papa, Jethro Gibbs, and my Dad, Tony DiNozzo. That's my brother, Oliver, and my sister, Caroline. Guys, this is Ali."

Brown haired, brown eyed Ali smiled and said a confident "Hello" in their direction. Gibbs stepped forward to shake her hand and smiled in return. "It's nice to meet you, Ali."

"It's nice to meet all of you finally. Theodore has told me so much about you. Never doubt that the guy loves his family," she said as she grinned over at him. He grinned back.

"We're pretty fond of him ourselves," Tony said, winking at Theo.

They all moved into the living room and sat down.

"Theo says you're planning to go to school to be a doctor?"

Ali nodded. "I was able to graduate high school early. I started at Georgetown this year; I'm doing undergraduate there for sure. I'm not sure where I'll go after that, I have a few schools in mind. But that's a couple of years away."

"Very ambitious," Tony said.

"I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. Above all else, that's my biggest dream. So I didn't want to waste any time getting started."

Gibbs thought she seemed to be an extremely nice and sweet girl. He could see why Theo, who had had zero interest in being in a relationship, would suddenly change his mind. But he also wondered how this could possibly go. If Ali's main focus was school, and Gibbs didn't begrudge her that, then Theo was looking at possibly getting his heart broken in the end. Although, he figured, that could be said of any relationship.

"Doesn't she inspire you at all, Theo?" Tony asked their son.

Theo had been struggling badly with deciding what he wanted to do with his life. At eighteen, Gibbs didn't see this as a problem. Ali was in the minority, already knowing exactly what she wanted to do and getting right to it, at her age.

"Well, she's inspirational and ambitious and all, but that doesn't mean I'm any closer to figuring out _my _future," Theo answered Tony.

Ali stayed for dinner and they all continued to talk and get to know each other. Gibbs decided he really liked her. It seemed everyone else did too. She seemed to be really down to earth and an all around good person.

"I should get home. I need to start my homework for the weekend and get some rest eventually."

"I'll walk out with you," Theo said as they stood up.

Gibbs and Tony stood up as well, each shaking Ali's hand again before she left and telling her how glad they were to have met her.

"I like her," Tony immediately said with a smile. "She's sweet."

Gibbs nodded in agreement.

When they woke the next morning, Gibbs needed to go to the grocery store and it turned out they all had a few things they needed to do so they all went together.

Oliver and Caroline were learning how to drive and it was Oliver's turn in the driver's seat. Gibbs sat up front with him.

They had quickly learned that Theo was an extremely good, safe driver. He rarely went over the speed limit, he stopped at yellow lights, and he refused to move the car until everyone had buckled their seat belts. He was always cautious and aware.

Caroline was proving to be a fine driver. She was a bit more nervous about it than her brothers but she didn't back down.

Oliver was a whole different story. He rarely ever went the speed limit, he would fly through yellow lights, and he would take turns with barely putting his foot on the brake. He had a bad habit of looking off to the side as he was driving, checking things out. It was not uncommon to hear "Oliver, car!" followed by "I saw it! I stopped!" which was usually answered with "Only after I pointed it out."

"Please pay attention to what you're doing this time, Oliver. There are four other people in the car besides you," Gibbs told him.

By the time they made it to the grocery store, Gibbs was clutching the _oh shit_ handle with all his strength and was beyond tense in his seat. The short trip had included Oliver almost running a red light, flying by a car way too close that was in the turning lane, everyone yelling "Oliver!" at once, and slamming on the brakes because he was going too fast and the car in front him was stopping to turn.

"You realize how much it takes to scare me or make me nervous right?" Gibbs turned to Tony in the backseat. Tony nodded. "He scares the _hell_ out of me."

Tony laughed at that. "I believe it."

"Well, if there had been any room around that guy, I could have just gone around him," Oliver said about the guy that had been turning and caused him to hit the brakes.

"You need to learn to control yourself better. You're going to end up getting killed or hurting someone else," Gibbs lectured as they all began to walk toward the store.

"It's not like you drive any better, Papa. Maybe I just learned from riding with you all these years."

Tony said, "He kind of has a point."

"I don't care!" Gibbs answered angrily. "I've been driving for over fifty years; he hasn't even been driving for a year. I don't care if he's ridden with me his whole life. He doesn't have any experience driving."

"Papa has an even better point," Tony looked at Oliver.

Oliver rolled his eyes and walked ahead.

As they were walking through the store, Oliver started to veer off and go down one aisle while the rest were going to continue on. Caroline turned around and said really loudly, "Excuse me, Oliver, could you grab a box of _tampons _for me while you're right there?" She said the word "tampons" even louder and dragged it out a little.

Oliver immediately looked horrified. "Caroline, _please_. Do not talk about that stuff in my presence. I've asked you a million times not to."

Theo looked horrified and uncomfortable as well and Tony grimaced but otherwise hid any reaction for Caroline's benefit. Gibbs rolled his eyes and said "You guys are so immature." He was only a few feet from the boxes, grabbed one and tossed it to Caroline. "Need anything else, baby?"

"No thank you, Papa. This is all," she smiled.

He smiled back at her and they continued their shopping.

There were a couple of more stops before they made it back home. Theo went upstairs to play his guitar while Oliver and Caroline spread their homework out across the living room floor and worked on it.

"Lots of homework this weekend, guys?" Tony asked from the couch.

"Yeah, high school is killer with the homework," Oliver told him as he wrote something down.

Gibbs stepped over Caroline and sat down on the other side of the couch. Tony took that as an invitation to sprawl out and rest his feet in Gibbs' lap. His lover proceeded to nudge him with his foot over and over again, a not-so-subtle hint that he wanted his feet rubbed. Gibbs ignored him, purely for torture, which resulted in a frustrated noise followed by a pleading whine from Tony. Snickering, Gibbs finally acquiesced.

"After we've finished dinner with Abby…" Gibbs began, only to be interrupted.

"We're going out to eat with Abby?" Oliver asked excitedly, homework forgotten at the mention of one of his favorite people.

"Dad and I are going out to eat with Abby. I thought he mentioned that. At least I asked him to," Gibbs sent a small glare Tony's way. "Then he and I are kind of going on a date."

Caroline abandoned her homework at this point. "You're going to eat with someone else and then going on a date? Shouldn't you two be eating alone for a date?"

"Dinner isn't part of the date. We're hanging out with Abs and then we're going for a walk," Tony answered.

Caroline giggled. "Like a romantic stroll in the moon light?"

"Something like that, maybe," was Tony's flippant reply.

Theo came down the stairs on his phone, most likely talking to Ali.

"When are we going to get cell phones?" Oliver asked, a pout clear in his voice.

"Theo didn't get one until he was sixteen and that was only because he was starting to drive. I imagine when you two start driving, we'll get you one. And you assumed cell _phones_ plural."

Oliver's eyes widened. "We'll only get one cell phone, Papa?"

"Yes, and you're lucky you'll get that much. You can share it."

"All of our friends already have cell phones," Caroline tried.

"We've been over this already," Tony said. "We don't care what your friends have. You should know that by now. We've never cared what your friends have or don't have. You are not your friends. Friends having cell phones does not equal Oliver and Caroline having cell phones. No such luck, kid."

"It was worth a try," she said with a grin.

Oliver's brow was furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak. Gibbs interrupted him.

"If you're about to have an attitude… _don't._"

Oliver opened his mouth again. "Well, just because…"

"I will send you out of this room, Oliver Thomas," Gibbs said, knowing his son was about to say something unnecessary and uncalled for.

Mouth finally closed, Oliver cleaned up his homework and went upstairs without another word. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Papa, I'm not trying to be rude or argue or anything, but it really kind of isn't fair that we only get one cell phone. We're not one person, even if we are twins," Caroline looked up at him with serious, innocent eyes.

Gibbs sighed inwardly. He and Tony had always tried to let them be independent of each other growing up instead of making it all about the fact they were twins. Oliver had had his own activities and Caroline had gone her own way. In school they had been put in separate classes, with the exception of preschool, from the very beginning. They had always encouraged them to be themselves if they wanted and that they didn't necessarily have to be just like each other because they were twins.

"I realize that," Gibbs said calmly so she would know he wasn't upset. "But cell phones are expensive and, really, you guys will be together most of the time so there's just no reason for two phones. If or when you each get into your own activities and things are really busy and it's just not working anymore then we'll talk about it. Until then, please remember that phones cost money and Dad and I, unfortunately, do not have any money trees growing in the back yard."

Caroline grinned even as she attempted a very Papa-like eye roll at his last comment. "I understand and it doesn't really bother me. I just wanted to point that out and hear what you had to say about it."

"And I'm glad you did. I always want to hear what you have to say," Gibbs told her.

That evening, he and Tony were in their room getting dressed. Gibbs was in his underwear searching through the closet. Tony had on a pair of khakis and was looking for a shirt to wear.

"You are so beautiful to meeeeee…." Tony belted out as he casually looked through his shirts.

"Well thank you, baby, I appreciate that," Gibbs answered smoothly.

Tony chuckled and pulled a shirt out that appealed to him. He continued to sing as he dressed and Gibbs pulled on a pair of jeans.

"My one lone request, and really, do I ever ask anything of you, is that you don't wear one of your predictable, expected polo shirts. It's the only thing I ask of you."

Gibbs rolled his eyes up slightly. "You're as dramatic as all three of your children. Now I know where they get it from. Yeah, fine, whatever. I'll go with something a bit _nicer_." He sounded less than pleased but he knew that Tony knew he was just messing with him.

He finally made his way downstairs, in a dark blue button down shirt and khakis he had changed into, and found Tony in the kitchen with the kids. Oliver and Caroline were both eating some heated up leftovers for dinner. Theo was leaning against the counter talking to Tony.

"L.B. has a date tonight too," Tony announced.

"Is that so?"

Theo shrugged. "I'm just taking Ali out for dinner then heading straight back here after. She'll have some last minute homework to finish up I'm sure."

"Have fun. And be careful, please," Gibbs told him before turning to his other two children. "You two behave while we're gone. No parties or anything of the sort."

Caroline grinned and Oliver snorted. Gibbs was a regular comedian.

He and Tony left a few minutes after Theo, on their way to dinner with Abby.

They still tried to keep in touch with the old team, their friends. It had become a little harder and less frequent now that none of them worked together but they tried to get together every now and then.

Dinner with Abby was, as always, a fun event. Conversation was constant and laughs were had.

Halfway through their meal, Gibbs' phone rang. He looked down at it to see "Home" on the screen.

"Yes?"

"Hey, can you guys bring me something to eat?" Oliver asked.

"What? You just ate," Gibbs answered incredulously. Oliver was getting the standard teenage male appetite these days.

"I'm hungry again," his son complained. "Please?"

"No," was the answer. "There's plenty to eat there. Make a sandwich or eat some fruit."

"Pop, I want something else. There's nothing here."

"Oliver. _Really?_ I just went to the grocery store a few days ago and bought a ton of food. If you can't find anything then I guess you'll go hungry. Dad and I aren't even coming home any time soon."

There was a pause on the other end followed by, "What if I whined and carried on dramatically?"

"Then I would treat you like little tiny Theo and tell you 'Please use your nice words, I don't know what you're saying when you whine like that.'"

There was only silence.

"So unless you're prepared to use your _nice words_, please don't say anything else about it. And let me get back to my dinner."

"Yeah, yeah, okay I suppose," Oliver answered reluctantly. "Love you."

"Love you too," Gibbs said before he closed the phone and put it away. He sent a look in Tony's direction and got a startled look in return.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't do it."

Gibbs laughed and went back to his dinner.

"So how are the kids?" Abby asked, taking a bite of her pasta.

"They're still a handful, as always, but they're good. Oliver and Caroline are both making straight A's in school. Theo Bean… he cares way less about it than the twins do but he's scraping by. But they're all great. We really couldn't be any happier with life than we are right now," Gibbs told her. "They're just so cool, so fun."

"Ever wish you'd had any more?" There was a smirk on Abby's face and a glint in her eyes.

"Hell no," Gibbs said with a laugh. Tony agreed immediately.

"We got one more than we bargained for," he said with a grin. "Oh, sure, we love them all to pieces and couldn't imagine life without any of them, all of that. But three kids were more than we ever talked about or planned for."

"Tony only wanted one," Gibbs said, sitting back in his seat. "It took a good bit of convincing to get him to try for another."

"You guys are _not _a one kid kind of family," Abby said with certainty.

"I'll take your word for it, Abs." Gibbs smirked at her and silently agreed they were _not _a one kid kind of family.

Conversation turned to Abby's new "oh, he's not good, he's _fantastic_" boyfriend. He seemed to be a steady figure in her life now, although when asked, Abby had said she wasn't sure she'd ever really settle down with anyone. Gibbs was curious to see where things would go with her and this _fantastic_ man.

They walked Abby to her car, talked for a few more minutes, and watched her drive off. There was a park only a few minutes from the restaurant where they would go for a walk.

Gibbs looked at Tony and nodded his head in that direction, turning to start the walk.

Tony had realized a couple of weeks ago how very _old married couple_ they were now. They were very much in love, but things had gotten very comfortable, maybe too comfortable, and they hadn't been trying as hard to keep up a great relationship. They weren't arguing or fighting but things had begun to get very monotonous and routine, there was no fun or spice, just wake up, go about the day, kiss goodnight, sleep, and repeat.

Tony said, getting older or not, he was not ready to be in the old married couple status yet.

They were just now getting around to a date, and it wasn't much of a date really, but it was a start. They were, at least, getting out of the house without the kids and taking the time to be together.

Tony glanced around the park which appeared to be deserted and looked over at Gibbs shyly. He held his hand out tentatively, as if Gibbs might refuse to take it. Like that would happen. Gibbs reached over and linked their fingers, grinning at his lover's bashfulness.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, found a picnic table and sat down across from each other. It was dark out and kind of cool. Gibbs yawned and rubbed a hand down his face.

"What have you got to be tired about?" Tony teased.

Gibbs grunted, shrugged. "I haven't been sleeping well. Too many aches and pains. My knee hurts, my back hurts." He waved it off. "Bound to happen."

Tony frowned at that. "It doesn't have to happen, Jethro. We'll figure something out for your knee and your back."

An idea came to him and he stood. Tony looked up at him curiously. Gibbs held his hand out and smiled, cleared his throat. "May I have this dance?" So he felt ridiculous and probably looked ridiculous, but for as long as he could remember Tony had tried to get him to slow dance with him and Gibbs had always refused. Somewhere along the way, Tony had stopped trying and that made Gibbs sad.

Tony's eyes lit up slightly and he looked around. The place was still deserted. "There's no music."

He continued to hold out his hand. "Who needs music? Come here," he said softly, pulling Tony against him.

Green eyes regarded him curiously once more. "You are so beautiful to meeee…." Gibbs teased and got the laugh he expected. He rested the side of his head against Tony's, his mouth near the other man's ear, and began to hum quietly as they swayed slightly.

"This feels suspiciously romantic," Tony murmured.

"Maybe you deserve some romance."

"Such a sap."

"I know it," Gibbs admitted.

They danced for a while longer, enjoying the closeness, before they walked a little more and made their way back to the car. When they pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, Tony said "Thanks. That was… nice."

Gibbs nodded. "It was."

They walked to the door, talking quietly, and Gibbs unlocked it and pushed it open none too quietly to hear a surprised screech. Oliver stood up with his hand over his heart and slightly wide eyes.

Gibbs was immediately suspicious.

"What are you up to?"

Caroline laughed. "We were watching a scary movie, Pop."

"And Caroline," Oliver began through clenched teeth, "thought it would be funny to turn out the light and jump out at me. I've been a twitchy mess ever since."

Gibbs snorted. He supposed having always limited what they could watch could have had a few downfalls. Oliver and Caroline, in particular, did not deal well with scary movies at all.

"Where's your brother?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that Theo's car hadn't been in the driveway.

Oliver shrugged. "I haven't seen him."

"He hasn't been back from dinner?" Tony asked in a surprised tone.

Caroline shook her head.

Gibbs saw Tony glance over at him. It wasn't like Theo to stay out very late and when he said he would only be gone so long he typically always meant it. And if he couldn't make it home, he was always courteous enough to call and give a heads up so nobody would worry.

It wasn't that they minded him being out late, but when he said he would only be a while and they came home to find him still not there, it was a bit worrisome.

After a couple of failed attempts at reaching him by phone, Gibbs went into the kitchen to have some coffee. About twenty minutes later, he heard the door open.

"I'd be wary of Papa," Gibbs heard Oliver quietly warning Theo.

As he made his way into the living room, he heard Theo say "Get your stuff out of my car."

"What?" came the confused reply from his little brother.

"I said get your damn stuff out of my car," Theo said. "I've already asked you twice. I'm not asking again. I'll throw it in the damn trash."

Gibbs paused. No matter Theo's moodiness or attitude, it wasn't like him to be so plainly mean.

Oliver had a surprised and slightly hurt look on his face. Gibbs nodded his head toward the stairs. Once he was on them he turned to Theo.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head and looked away, refusing to meet Gibbs' eyes. Tony walked over, tilted his head. "Most importantly, are you okay?"

"Fine," he managed to mutter.

Theo's eyes unexpectedly filled with tears and he took a deep breath. "Maybe not so fine," he whispered hoarsely. "I need to tell you guys something."

Naturally, Gibbs' mind began to race with the possibilities. He feared the worst and waited with bated breath as they sat down to speak.

He and Tony sat on the couch while Theo sat on the coffee table in front of them, wringing his hands and swallowing convulsively.

He looked at them and tears began to fall, pouring down his cheeks. He took another deep, shaky breath to calm himself.

"Ali is pregnant."

**I hope you liked! I really debated the whole pregnant thing but decided in the end it's something that could and does happen in real life, so why not? I will not be starting the story over with Theo's kid or anything, LOL, so don't worry, but the kid will be part of the story now. I've got most of the next chapter written, just need to finish it up. :) Thanks for reading.**


End file.
